Abstract

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Background
Keywords
Findings
Authors
Why is this study important?
What else is known on this topic?
What does this study add?

Background

Aboriginal peoples experience a disproportionate burden of disease, compared with other Canadians. However, relatively little information is available about mortality among Métis and non-Status Indians.

Methods

This study calculates potential years of life lost before age 75 (PYLL) for people aged 25 to 74 by all-cause and cause-specific mortality, and examines the effect of socio-economic factors on premature mortality. Age-specific and age-standardized PYLL rates were calculated for 11,600 Métis, 5,400 non-Status Indians, and 2,475,700 non-Aboriginal adults based on the number of person-years at risk up to age 75.

Results

Métis and non-Status Indian adults had about twice the risk of dying before age 75, compared with non-Aboriginal adults. While the largest percentage of PYLL was due to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, relative and absolute inequalities were greatest for injuries. Socio-economic indicators such as income, education and employment explained a large share of the disparities in premature mortality.

Interpretation

The results highlight the losses of potential years of life due to chronic diseases, as well as the possible importance of injury prevention programs for Métis and non-Status Indians

Keywords

Aboriginal, cause of death, death rate, First Nations, indigenous, life expectancy, longevity, mortality

Findings

As a result of a complex set of social, economic and environmental circumstances, Aboriginal peoples experience a disproportionate burden of disease, compared with other Canadians. Life expectancy, the most basic of health indicators, is considerably shorter for Status Indians (First Nations registered under the Indian Act of Canada) and for people living in the Inuit-inhabited areas of Canada (80% of whom are Inuit). But methodological challenges limit the amount of mortality information available about Métis and non-Status Indians. In fact, relative to their population size, these two Aboriginal groups have been under-represented in health research in general. [Full text]

Author

Michael Tjepkema (1-613-951-3896; michael.tjepkema@statcan.gc.ca) and Russell Wilkins (1-613-951-5305; russell.wilkins@statcan.gc.ca) are with the Health Analysis Division at Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6. Sacha Senécal, Éric Guimond and Christopher Penney are with the Strategic Research and Analysis Directorate at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Gatineau, Quebec.

Why is this study important?

Relatively little mortality information exists about Métis and non-Status Indians.

What else is known on this topic?

Rates of potential years of life lost are higher for First Nations registered under the Indian Act (Status Indians), with injury deaths the largest contributor.

What does this study add?

For Métis and non-Status Indians, rates of potential years of life lost (at ages 25 to 74) were about twice as high as for non-Aboriginal people.
Both absolute and relative inequalities were particularly elevated for injuries.
Socio-economic factors such as income, education, housing and employment explained a substantial proportion of excess premature mortality among Métis and non-Status Indians.