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Study: Avoidable mortality by neighbourhood income
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Differences in mortality rates between the richest and poorest neighbourhoods in urban Canada declined substantially between 1971 and 1996. However, the reductions varied considerably across different causes of death, according to a new study.
The study, published recently in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, used data from the census and the Canadian Mortality Database to examine differences in mortality across fifths of the urban population grouped by neighbourhood income. The 25-year study period followed the creation of universal health care in Canada.
The study found that reductions in rates of death amenable to medical care made the largest contribution to narrowing socioeconomic disparities in mortality over the 25-year period.
During this time, the disparity between the richest and poorest fifths of the population in terms of rates of years of life lost from causes amenable to medical care, declined 60% in men and 78% in women.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto, Statistics Canada, the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and the University of Ottawa.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 3233 and 3901.
The study "Avoidable mortality by neighbourhood income in Canada: 25 years after the establishment of universal health insurance" was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2007;61, 287-296. An abstract of the article is available free online (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez) in English only. The full text of the article is also available online in English only (http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/61/4/287).
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of the study, contact Russell Wilkins (613-951-5305; russell.wilkins@statcan.gc.ca), Health Analysis and Measurement Group, or Paul James (416-725-0530; paul.james@utoronto.ca), University Health Network.
