Life expectancy at birth increased only for men in 2002, according to new mortality data. This narrowed the life expectancy between men and women to just 4.9 years.

Men who were born in 2002 could expect to live to the record high age of 77.2, up 0.2 years from 2001. On the other hand, the life expectancy of women at birth remained unchanged at 82.1 years. Life expectancy at birth for both sexes combined reached 79.7 years in 2002—up 0.1 years from 2001 and entirely a result of the gain among men.

Between 1979 and 2002, life expectancy for men improved by 5.8 years while that of women improved by 3.3 years.

Life expectancy rising among seniors

Life expectancy at the age of 65 improved only for men in 2002. Their life expectancy rose 0.1 years, while senior women saw no gain. At age 65, life expectancy for women exceeds that for men by 3.4 years.

Based on 2002 mortality rates, Canadian men at the age of 65 could expect to live on average an additional 17.2 years. On the other hand, their female counterparts could expect to live an additional 20.6 years on average.

For both sexes combined, the remaining life span after age 65 would be 19.1 years.

Since 1979, life expectancy among men at 65 has increased by 2.6 years, while that of women has increased by 1.6 years.

Infant mortality rate

The infant mortality rate, that is, deaths in the first year of life, increased in 2002 to 5.4 deaths for every 1,000 live births, up from 5.2 in 2001. The entire increase resulted from female infant mortality.

The female infant mortality rate increased to 4.9 deaths per 1,000 live births from 4.6 in 2001. The male infant mortality rate remained at 5.8.

The increase in the infant mortality rate was entirely due to the deaths of infants under one day old. The death rate of these newborns increased to 2.5 per 1,000 live births in 2002, from 2.3 the year before.

The increase in the infant mortality rate was especially pronounced in Alberta, where the rate rose to 7.3 deaths per 1,000 live births from 5.6. Following a period of steady decline (to 4.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in both 1997 and 1998), Alberta infant mortality has risen in three of the last four years. Both the number and the rate of infant deaths in 2002 reached levels not seen since 1994.

Most of the increase in the Alberta infant mortality rate was due to the deaths of infants under one day old. Their mortality rate climbed to 3.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, up from 2.3 in 2001.

Low-birth weight and pre-term births have been found by researchers to put infants at higher risk of death. Birth data for Alberta from 1979 to 2002 show the province has had consistently higher proportions of both low-birth weight births and of pre-term births than Canada as a whole.

In 2002, 8.6% of Alberta newborns were pre-term, that is, under 37 weeks' gestation. In Canada, 7.5% of newborns were pre-term. In Alberta, 6.5% were low-birth weight, or under 2,500 grams compared with 5.7% of newborns in Canada.

Number of deaths up

The number of deaths in Canada rose 1.9% in 2002, continuing a long-term upward trend. A total of 223,603 people died, up from 219,538 the previous year.

The number of deaths increased in every province and territory. Increases were above the national level in Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the three territories.

Age-standardized mortality rate increases for women

The age-standardized mortality rate, which controls for the impact of population aging, rose among women for the first time in nine years in 2002. The rate reached 485.7 deaths per 100,000 population.

This rate had been dropping consistently each year since its last peak of 540.2 in 1993. The age-standardized mortality rate for men continued to decline in 2002, falling to 747.8 deaths per 100,000. This was down from the most recent peak of 902.1 in 1993.

A total of 110,337 women died in 2002, up 2.6% from the previous year. The number of men who died rose 1.1% to 113,266.

The ratio of male-to-female deaths has almost reached equality. Just over one-half (51%) of those who died in 2002 were men. Three decades earlier, in 1972, men accounted for 58% of deaths and women 42%.

Men were much more likely than women to have had a spouse at the time of their death.

Almost 56% of men who died in 2002 were married at the time of their death, twice the proportion of women (27%). However, 54% of women were widows compared with only 18% of men who were widowers.

One-third of deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system

More than 74,600 deaths, or one-third of the total in 2002, were due to diseases of the circulatory system. Malignant neoplasms (cancers) accounted for 29% or 65,103 deaths. Combined, diseases of the circulatory system and cancer were responsible for almost two-thirds of deaths. This proportion has remained relatively unchanged for several years.

Deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system have been decreasing for several years. In 2002, they fell a further 0.3%.

The number of deaths due to cancer increased 2.1%, also continuing a long-term trend. However, the age-standardized mortality rate for cancers dropped further in 2002 to 178.2 per 100,000 population. This rate peaked at 196.8 in 1988.

Large increases in deaths due to diabetes

More than 7,800 deaths were due to diabetes mellitus in Canada in 2002, a dramatic 10.9% increase over 2001. This followed a large 5.7% increase between 2000 and 2001. Deaths due to diabetes, which have increased in 8 of the last 10 years, were 75.8% higher than they were in 1992.

Results from both the National Population Health Survey and Canadian Community Health Survey show an increase (from 3.0% in 1994/95 to 4.6% in 2003) in the proportion of the Canadian population aged 12 and over reporting diabetes as a chronic condition.

Age-standardized mortality rates for diabetes rose to 20.9 per 100,000 population in 2002, up from 18.9 in 2000 and 19.3 in 2001.

Cancer deaths mainly in four locations

One-half of cancer deaths were due to malignant neoplasms in one of four sites: lung, colorectal, female breast and male prostate.

Colorectal cancer was responsible for the deaths of 7,023 people in 2002, up 5.9% from 2001. Age-standardized mortality rates for colorectal cancer were up for both men and women.

Prostate cancer resulted in 3,708 male deaths in 2002, down 3.1% from 2001. The age-standardized mortality rate for prostate cancer fell to 25.2 deaths per 100,000 population from 26.9.

Breast cancer resulted in the deaths of 4,977 women in 2002, a marginal 0.2% increase from 2001. The age-standardized mortality rate for female breast cancer fell in 2002 to 24.4 deaths per 100,000 population from 25.0 a year earlier.

Deaths from lung cancer, as well as age-standardized mortality rates, continued rising for both men and women. A total of 17,188 men and women died from lung cancer in 2002. The age-standardized mortality rate rose to 47.8 deaths per 100,000 population from 47.3.