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Ministry of Health
TABLE 21
CAUSES OF DEATH BY GENDER AND AGE
British Columbia, 2001

Table, Causes of Death by Gender and Age

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]

HIGHLIGHTS TO TABLE 21
  • There were 28,164 deaths in British Columbia in 2001, 864 more deaths than the 27,300 in 2000 (see Table 1). More than half of all deaths in 2001 (52.1%) were males (14,661 deaths), and 13,503 deaths were females. Over three quarters (78.5%) of all 2001 deaths were seniors (age 65 or older), and the oldest age group (80 years of age or more) accounted for more than four out of every ten deaths (46.3%).

  • The Age Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) for all causes of death in 2001 was 55.08 per 10,000 standard population. The 2001 ASMR for males was 68.02 and for females it was 44.52.

  • Circulatory system diseases were responsible for more than a third (34.6%) of all deaths in 2001 (9,734). It was the leading cause of death of the elderly aged 80 or older (5,816 deaths) who accounted for more than half (59.7%) of the deaths from this cause. The ASMR for circulatory system diseases was 18.10 per 10,000 standard population.

  • More than one in four deaths (28.3%) in 2001 was due to neoplasms, including cancer and non-malignant neoplasms (7,967 deaths). The total ASMR for neoplasms was 16.18 per 10,000 standard population.

  • In 2001, one in ten deaths (10.0%) was due to respiratory system diseases (2,817), and the ASMR for respiratory system diseases was 5.20 per 10,000 standard population. These deaths, including pneumonia/influenza and chronic lung disease, tend to occur in older age groups. In 2001, 93.9% of deaths from respiratory system diseases were seniors (age 65 and over).

  • External causes of death, also referred to as accidents and violence, claimed 1,422 lives in 2001, of which more than two thirds (68.6%) were males. External causes claimed many young lives, in contrast to the older age profile of deaths from natural causes. Unintentional injury/accident was the leading cause of death category in all age groups under 45 years of age except for infants (under one year of age), where the most common cause of death was perinatal conditions (see Table 23).