Health Reports
A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
November 2023
Sex differences in COVID-19 deaths in the early months of the pandemic in Canada: An examination with an immigration lens
by Edward Ng
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the vulnerability of certain population groups, such as the elderly and those who have pre-existing co-morbid health conditions (e.g., obesity and diabetes) or are immunocompromised, as being at a high risk of COVID-19 infection and death. However, sex also emerged to be a significant risk factor as epidemiological findings revealed higher morbidity and mortality rates in males compared with females worldwide. A meta-analysis of 3,111,714 reported global cases shows that male patients were almost three times more likely to require intensive care and had higher odds of death compared with female patients. The observed male overrepresentation in COVID-19 mortality impacts seems to be associated with biological and situational factors, which include gender-related social norms, behaviours, and sex-based immunological factors. Also, the prevalence of COVID-19 mortality risk factors, such as diabetes, cancer and smoking, was higher among males than among females in Canada. The higher proportion of male COVID-19 deaths observed during the pandemic is a global phenomenon.
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Sex differences in COVID-19 deaths in the early months of the pandemic in Canada: An examination with an immigration lens
- Garner R, Tanuseputro P, Manuel D, Sanmartin C. “Transitions to longterm and residential care among older Canadians.” Health Reports. 2018; 29 (5).
- Ng, E. “COVID-19 deaths among immigrants: Evidence from the early months of the pandemic”. StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada. 2021.
Intersecting risk factors for physical inactivity among Canadian adults
by Rachel C. Colley , Michelle Guerrero and Tracey Bushnik
Substantive evidence points to a strong dose–response relationship between physical activity and the prevention of premature mortality and several chronic conditions. Among Canadian adults, 45% meet the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week. This singular statistic reflects the average adherence among Canadian adults aged 18 to 79 years and does not provide information about groups within the population that may be more or less likely to meet the physical activity recommendation. Many individual barriers to physical activity have been proposed; however, the compounding effect of having multiple risk factors for physical inactivity is less clear. Further, the interplay of age-related differences in physical activity behaviour and family arrangement with other risk factors for physical inactivity is not well understood. Identification of the most common combinations of age, family arrangement, and risk factors for inactivity in the Canadian context may help to target public health messaging and strategies toward those who need them most.
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Intersecting risk factors for physical inactivity among Canadian adults
- Clarke J, Colley RC, Janssen I, Tremblay MS. “Accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of Canadian adults, 2007 to 2017”. Health Reports. 2019; 30(8): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x201900800001-eng
- Andreacchi AT, Yoshida-Montezuma Y, Colley RC, Smith BT, Vanderloo LM, Anderson LN. “Changes in chronic disease risk factors and current exercise habits among Canadian adults living with and without a child during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Health Reports. 2022; 33(4): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202200400001-eng
- Prince SA, Roberts KC, Reed JL, Biswas A, Colley RC, Thompson W. “Daily physical activity and sedentary behavior across occupational classifications in Canadian adults”. Health Reports. 2020; 31(9): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202000900002-eng
- Colley RC, Watt J. “The unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical activity habits of Canadians”. Health Reports. 2022; 33(5): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202200500003-eng
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