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TABLE 21:

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Tab 21

TABLE 21
CAUSES OF DEATH BY GENDER AND AGE
British Columbia, 2002

• There were 28,686 deaths in British Columbia in 2002, 460 more deaths than the 28,226 in 2001 (see Table 1). More than half of all deaths in 2002 (50.9%) were males (14,612 deaths), and 14,074 deaths were females. Over three quarters (78.4%) of all 2002 deaths were seniors (age 65 or older), and the oldest age group (80 years of age or more) accounted for almost five out of every ten deaths (46.9%).

• The Age Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) for all causes of death in 2002 was 54.36 per 10,000 standard population. The 2002 ASMR for males was 66.12 and for females it was 44.65.

• Circulatory system diseases were responsible for more than a third (33.8%) of all deaths in 2002 (9,698). It was the leading cause of death of the elderly aged 80 or older (5,880 deaths) who accounted for more than six out of every ten (60.6%) of the deaths from this cause. The ASMR for circulatory system diseases was 17.38 per 10,000 standard population.

• More than one in four deaths (28.4%) in 2002 was due to neoplasms, including cancer and non-malignant neoplasms (8,133 deaths). The total ASMR for neoplasms was 16.06 per 10,000 standard population.

• In 2002, one in ten deaths (10.4%) was due to respiratory system diseases (2,986), and the ASMR for respiratory system diseases was 5.30 per 10,000 standard population. These deaths, including pneumonia/influenza and chronic lung disease, tend to occur in older age groups. In 2002, 93.0% of deaths from respiratory system diseases were seniors (age 65 and over).

• External causes of death, also referred to as accidents and violence, claimed 1,588 lives in 2002, of which more than two thirds (68.3%) 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 between 10 and 45 years of age.