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Ministry of Health
VITAL STATISTICS INFORMATION BOX
MAJOR CAUSES OF DEATH
IN THE STATUS INDIAN POPULATION
BRITISH COLUMBIA 1991-1997

A 1998 analysis by the B.C. Vital Statistics Agency for the Medical Services Branch, Health Canada, updated previous reports of birth and mortality statistics in the B.C. Status Indian Population. The report highlighted the major differences in mortality data between the Status Indian population and the population of the province as a whole.

In 1997, one in 33 B.C. residents was a Status Indian. The average age of the Status Indian population was 28 years old, more than 10 years younger than the provincial average of 37 years of age.

Between 1991 and 1997, there were 4,910 Status Indian deaths among the province's 180,481 deaths. Accidents and violence (external causes) were the cause of three out of every ten (27.9%) Status Indian deaths compared to less than one in ten (8.1%) among all provincial deaths. The most common causes of death in this category for Status Indians were motor vehicle traffic accidents, accidental poisoning (which includes deaths from a drug overdose), and suicide; for the total B.C. population, the most common deaths from accidents or violence were from suicide, motor vehicle traffic accidents, accidental falls and accidental poisoning.

Circulatory system diseases were the second largest cause of death for Status Indians (23.0%) and the leading cause of death in the total B.C. population (37.2% of all B.C. deaths). The third major cause of deaths in the B.C. Status Indian population was cancers, with 13.9% of deaths. In the total B.C. population, cancer accounted for 26.6% of all deaths. Lung cancer was most common type in both populations.

Source: Analysis of Status Indians in British Columbia, 1991-1997, December 1998.

MAJOR CAUSES OF DEATH
BRITISH COLUMBIA 1991-1997

  Status Indian Total B.C. Population
Causes of Death ICD9 Codes Deaths % ASMR Deaths % ASMR
Infectious/Parasitic Diseases 001-139 164 3.3 2.9 3,315 1.8 1.2
  AIDS/HIV Infections 042-044 91 1.9 1.3 1,713 0.9 0.7
                 
Cancer 140-208 681 13.9 18.9 48,023 26.6 17.0
  Lung 162 138 2.8 4.0 12,873 7.1 4.6
  Female Breast 174 55 1.1 2.8 3,854 2.1 2.5
  Colorectal 153-154 69 1.4 1.9 4,360 2.4 1.5
  Prostate 185 40 0.8 2.8 3,321 1.8 2.8
                 
Endocrine/Nutritional/Metabolic 240-279 119 2.4 3.2 4,967 2.8 1.7
  Diabetes 250 78 1.6 2.3 3,601 2.0 1.2
                 
Circulatory System Diseases 390-459 1,131 23.0 32.6 67,188 37.2 23.0
  Ischaemic Heart 410-414, 429.2 526 10.7 15.7 34,896 19.3 12.0
  Cerebrovascular/Stroke 430-434, 436-438 240 4.9 6.9 14,643 8.1 5.0
                 
Respiratory 460-519 361 7.4 10.0 17,967 10.0 6.1
  Pneumonia/Influenza 480-487 195 4.0 5.0 8,145 4.5 2.8
  Chronic Pulmonary Disease* 491-492, 496 86 1.8 2.9 7,051 3.9 2.4
                 
Digestive 520-579 321 6.5 7.7 6,731 3.7 2.4
  Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis 571 163 3.3 3.5 1,925 1.1 0.7
                 
Congenital Anomalies 740-759 38 0.8 0.3 825 0.5 0.3
                 
Perinatal Conditions 760-779 65 1.3 0.4 756 0.4 0.3
                 
External Causes E800-E999 1,371 27.9 20.3 14,630 8.1 5.6
  Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents E810-E819 335 6.8 4.8 3,092 1.7 1.2
  Drowning E830, E832, E910 66 1.3 0.9 551 0.3 0.2
  Accidental Poisoning E850-E869 285 5.8 4.1 2,327 1.3 0.9
  Accidental Falls E880-E888 90 1.8 2.1 2,330 1.3 0.8
  Fire/Flames E890-E899 54 1.1 0.9 243 0.1 0.1
  Suicide E950-E959 279 5.7 3.6 3,385 1.9 1.3
  Homicide E960-E969 101 2.1 1.4 734 0.4 0.3
                 
All Other Causes   659 13.4 12.8 16,079 8.9 5.6
                 
Total Deaths   4,910 100.0 109.1 180,481 100.0 63.3
Notes: *491-Chronic Bronchitis, 492-Emphysema, 496-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
ASMR - Age Standardized Mortality Rates are deaths per 10,000 standard population.
Gender unknown are excluded.