This fact sheet uses 2021–2024 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data to examine binge drinking, cigarette use, e-cigarette use, marijuana use, and prescription painkiller misuse among AIAN adults in California.

Findings:

• Approximately 1 in 5 AIAN adults had an episode of binge drinking (21%) or used marijuana (19%) in the past month.
• Among those who used prescription painkillers in the past year, nearly 1 in 8 reported misusing these painkillers (12%).
• Approximately 1 in 8 AIAN adults reported smoking either cigarettes and/or e-cigarettes in the past month (13%).

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations face disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease nationally, and among California tribal communities, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease have been identified as major health priorities.

This fact sheet uses combined 2020–2024 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data to examine hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, diabetes medication use, hypertension medication use, and uncontrolled hypertension among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) adults in California.

Findings: 

• 1 in 4 AIAN adults reported living with hypertension (25%), and an additional 9% reported having borderline or pre-hypertension. This amounts to more than 1 in 3 living with elevated blood pressure (34%).
• Approximately 6% of AIAN adults reported living with heart disease (e.g., coronary artery disease).
• About 1 in 9 AIAN adults reported living with diabetes (12%).
• Overall, nearly 1 in 3 AIAN adults reported living with heart disease, hypertension, and/or diabetes (32%), and approximately 10% of AIAN adults reported living with at least two of these conditions. 

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations face significant chronic disease and substance use burdens compared to other populations. However, the differences that exist within this broader population remain understudied in California. Using combined 2020–2024 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data for AIAN adults, this policy brief highlights variations in chronic conditions and substance use across AIAN subpopulation groups.

Selected Findings

• American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) adults in California experience substantial burdens of chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and uncontrolled blood pressure, and of substance use including smoking, marijuana use, and binge drinking.
•  These burdens are not shared equally across AIAN subpopulations, those with lower incomes or lower educational attainment reported higher rates of living with diabetes and uncontrolled blood pressure. 
• Among AIAN adults living with hypertension, those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, or another nonheterosexual identity (LGBP+) were more than twice as likely as heterosexual adults to have uncontrolled blood pressure. 
• Substance use also differed by income, with smoking more common among lower-incomes AIAN adults and binge drinking more common among higher-income adults.
•  Marijuana use was markedly higher among LGBP+ and transgender and gender-expansive AIAN adults than their heterosexual and cisgender peers. 

Housing discrimination is widely recognized as a significant public health issue, yet its prevalence and distribution across populations remain understudied in California. Using pooled 2023–2024 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data for adults 18 and older, this policy brief highlights the prevalence of housing discrimination, groups that are discriminated against, and variations across populations and regions.

Key findings:

• Approximately 1 in 25 (4%) adult Californians (18 and older) said they experienced harassment or discrimination related to housing in the past two years. 
• Nearly a quarter of Californians with unstable housing (24%), 10% of Black or African American Californians, 9% of those living with a disability, and 8% of transgender and gender-expansive Californians said they had experienced housing discrimination in the past two years. 
• Californians who had used or received a Housing Choice Section 8 Voucher (14%), those with household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL)(8%), and those who rent (8%) had also experienced higher rates of housing discrimination than the state average (4%). 
• Among the entire adult population in California, approximately 1 in every 50 adult Californians (roughly 586,000 people) experienced housing discrimination due to race or skin color in the past two years.