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Analysis of Health Statistics for Status Indians in British Columbia 1991 - 1998

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Overview of Mortality Statistics

The following section discusses each of the major cause of death categories for Status Indians and all other B.C. residents, as well as noting major findings for Status Indians in the South Mainland, Vancouver Island, North West and North East areas. The analysis includes discussion of Age Standardized Mortality Rates (ASMR), and Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) measures. Generally, the analysis focuses on aggregate data for the 1991 to 1998 period. Annual data are provided in Appendix 2 Detailed Mortality Tables at the end of the report, but are generally not included in the analysis because of the small numbers involved.

Mortality statistics are provided in many tables. Table 9 presents causes of death by gender and age for Status Indians and all other B.C. residents, while similar information for the four administrative areas is presented in 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d. Table 10 shows leading causes of death at the provincial level and the top five causes of death in each administrative area are shown in Table 11. ASMR and PYLL data are presented in Tables 12, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d and 13, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d. External causes of death by gender and age group are presented in Tables 14, 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d.

All Causes

In the 1991-1998 period, there were 5,680 Status Indian deaths, which was one out of every 39 deaths in the province. The aggregate Status Indian Age Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) of 114.6 per 10,000 standard population was 84% higher than the rate of 62.3 for other B.C. residents. Although the annual Status Indian ASMRs were increasing in the last three years, for the last five years they were still below the 1991-1998 aggregate rate, revealing a decreased mortality rate over the eight-year period.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
The South Mainland area had the highest Status Indian ASMR (139.5) and the lowest ASMR (61.9) for other area residents.
There were 3,308 male and 2,392 female deaths in the Status Indian population in the eight year period. In this population, average age at death for males (approximately 50 years) was four years younger than females (54 years), compared to 68 and 92 for all other male and female deaths in the province. The Age Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) for males was 135.3 for Status Indians and 96.9 for all other B.C. males. For females, the ASMRs were 95.9 and 50.3, respectively.
In general, the Status Indian population had higher mortality in the younger age groups. The average age at death among Status Indians was approximately 52 years compared to an average of 69 years for other B.C. residents. The differences by age groups were more striking. In the eight year period, 9.6% of the Status Indian deaths were children (under age 20) but among all other deaths in the province, only 1.8% were children. Similarly, seniors (age 65 or older) accounted for only 38.5% of Status Indian deaths but 96.9% of all other deaths.

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

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
In total, 4,349 Status Indians were under the age of 75 years at the time of death. This represented 4.9% of the 92,961 'premature' deaths in the province. However, since the Status Indians are generally in the younger age groups, the Status Indian deaths accounted for more than 8.2% of the potential years of life lost in the province.
In the youngest age group, infants under one year of age, the age specific mortality rate (ASR) from natural causes for Status Indian infants was twice the rate of other B.C. residents. This was due to the high rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among Status Indian infants. In the age groups between 1 and 64 years of age, the two populations showed similar trends in ASRs from natural causes, which rose with age. After age 65, the ASRs showed large increases, especially among other B.C. residents.
For deaths from external causes (accidents and violence), the age specific mortality rate peaked in the 25-44 age group, where the ASR for the Status Indian population was three times the ASR for other B.C. residents in the age group.

Leading Causes of Death

The causes of death used in the Table 11 Leading Causes of Death Ranked by ASMR are the sub-categories presented in the Detailed Mortality tables, which were based on categories in the Statistics Canada publication Leading Causes at Different Ages. To determine the leading causes, these categories were ranked by ASMR for 1991-1998 and, in the case of ties, by the number of deaths in the period.

In the provincial Status Indian population, the top five leading causes of death were, in order, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease/stroke, gastrointestinal cancers, pneumonia/influenza, and respiratory system cancers. All five were also in the leading causes for all other B.C. residents, in a slightly different order with respiratory system cancers rating higher. Together, these five categories accounted for more than one quarter (29.3%) of Status Indian deaths and nearly one half (49.3%) of all other deaths in the province between 1991 and 1998.
Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death for all B.C. residents. Out of the 39,926 deaths from this cause over the eight year period, 603 deaths were Status Indians. The Status Indian ASMR was 19.0 per 10,000 standard population, compared to the provincial rate of 11.9.
The other causes of death in the Status Indian top ten leading causes were, from sixth to tenth place respectively, motor vehicle traffic accidents, accidental poisoning, congestive heart failure, suicide, and chronic liver disease/cirrhosis. With the exception of congestive heart failure, none of these were among the top ten leading causes for other B.C. residents. The causes of death that were in the top ten for other B.C. residents but not for the Status Indian population were prostate cancer, female breast cancer, chronic pulmonary diseases, and female reproductive system cancers.
Overall, accidents and violence categories (motor vehicle traffic accidents, accidental poisoning, suicide, and accidental falls) and diseases affecting the digestive or urinary system (chronic liver disease & cirrhosis and renal failure, nephritis, nephrosis) ranked higher in the Status Indian list of leading causes, and had ASMRs which were at least two and a half times the rates for the other B.C. residents. On the other hand, the ASMRs for cancers were generally similar in the two populations, and ranked lower in the Status Indian list of leading causes.
Among other causes of death of interest, the Status Indian populations had ASMRs for homicide, accidental drowning, fire and flames, and SIDS that were between four and eight times higher that the rates for other B.C. residents.
Regionally, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease/stroke, and gastrointestinal cancers, which were in the leading causes of death at the provincial level, were also in the top five causes of death in all areas, for both the Status Indian and all other area populations.
Leading causes found regionally in the top five for Status Indians only were motor vehicle traffic accidents (the second leading cause of death for Status Indians in the North East), accidental poisoning (the fifth leading cause of death for Status Indians in the South Mainland), and suicide (the fifth leading cause of death for Status Indians in Vancouver Island).

Infectious/Parasitic Diseases

Infectious and parasitic diseases include AIDS/HIV infections, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and septicemia.

In the eight year period, there were 192 Status Indian deaths from infectious/parasitic diseases. These deaths included 11 children (under 20 years of age) and 31 seniors (65 years or older). The Status Indian ASMR for infectious/parasitic diseases was 2.9 per 10,000 standard population, more than double the provincial rate of 1.1. The South Mainland area had the highest mortality rates for infectious/parasitic diseases, 3.9 for the Status Indian population and 1.3 for other area residents.
AIDS/HIV infections accounted for more than half of the deaths from infectious diseases in both populations. AIDS/HIV claimed 108 Status Indian lives in the 1991-1998 period, 91 of which were males. Although the province saw a dramatic decline in the annual number of AIDS/HIV deaths between 1995 and 1998, this trend was not seen in the Status Indian population (see Appendix 2 Detailed Mortality Tables).

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
For the eight year period, the Status Indian ASMR for deaths from AIDS/HIV infections was 1.2 deaths per 10,000 standard population. In comparison, the ASMR for all other B.C. residents was 0.6. On average, Status Indians who died from AIDS/HIV were 38.8 years old, two years younger than the average age of 40.8 years for other B.C. residents who died from this cause.

Cancers

There were 802 Status Indian deaths from cancers, or malignant neoplasms, in the 1991-1998 period or one in seven Status Indian deaths in the eight years. The Status Indian ASMR for cancer (20.1 deaths per 10,000 standard population) was higher than the rate of 16.9 for other B.C. residents. In many of the major cancer categories, the Status Indian population showed a slightly higher mortality rate for other B.C. residents. Over the eight years, the mortality rate from cancers showed a small but relatively steady decline for other B.C. residents, while cancer ASMRs in the Status Indian population were decreasing from 1991 to 1995 and then started an increasing trend from 1996 to 1998.
Cancer claimed younger lives in the Status Indian population. Seventy percent of Status Indian cancer deaths were under 95 years of age, compared to only 59% of all other B.C. residents of this age group who died from cancers. Of these 'premature' deaths, the average age for a death from cancer was 59.2 years for Status Indians, almost five years younger than the average age of 62.4 years for all other B.C. residents.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
Of the four areas, the South Mainland had the highest Status Indian ASMR for cancers (24.0) and the lowest rate for all other residents (16.6). The Status Indian population had higher cancer mortality rates than the rest of the area populations in South Mainland and Vancouver Island areas.
The provincial Status Indian ASMR for gastrointestinal cancers, 6.8 per 10,000 standard population, was about 40% higher than the rate for other B.C. residents. In the leading causes of death (based on ASMRs of categories shown in the Detailed Mortality Tables), gastrointestinal cancers, which include colorectal cancer, ranked third or fourth B.C. and all four areas for both Status Indian and other residents.
Colorectal cancer claimed 98 Status Indian lives between 1991 and 1998. The ASMR for this specific cause of death was 2.0 deaths per 10,000 standard population, slightly above the rate of 1.5 for other B.C. residents.
Respiratory system cancers, which include lung cancer, was the fifth leading cause of death in the B.C. Status Indian population but the third for other B.C. residents. The Status Indian ASMR for respiratory system cancers (4.5) was lower than the rate for other B.C. residents (4.8).
In the eight year period, 64 Status Indian women died from breast cancer and 16 died from cervical cancer. The Status Indian ASMR for female breast cancer (2.6) was slightly above the rate for other B.C. residents (2.5), while the rate for cervical cancer (0.5) was more than twice the rate (0.2) for other B.C. residents. Of these Status Indian deaths, more than 90% from cervical cancer and 95 % from breast cancer were aged 95 years or younger. The average age of these premature deaths was 53.3 years for breast cancer and 48.2 for cervical cancer, both younger than the comparable average ages in the other B.C. residents, 58.8 and 53.9, respectively.
There were 49 deaths from prostate cancer in the Status Indian population in the 1991-1998 period. The ASMR for prostate cancer was 3.2 per 10,000 standard population was slightly above the rate of 2.9 for other B.C. residents. Of all the 'premature' deaths (age under 95) from this cause, the average age at the time of death was approximately 68 years in both populations.

Endocrine/Nutritional/Metabolic Diseases

Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases and immunity disorders include diabetes, cystic fibrosis and nutritional deficiencies.

There were 141 Status Indian deaths from these causes in the 1991-1998 period, and 5,696 deaths from this cause among all other residents of the province. The Status Indian ASMR for endocrine/nutritional/metabolic diseases was 3.4 deaths per 10,000 standard population, which was double the rate of 1.9 for other B.C. residents. For Status Indian populations, the mortality rates from this cause were highest in the South Mainland and Vancouver Island areas; for other B.C. residents, the rates were highest in the North West and North East.
In this category, diabetes was responsible for two thirds of Status Indian deaths and almost three-quarters of deaths among other B.C. residents from endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases and immunity disorders. There were 94 Status Indian deaths from diabetes between 1991 and 1998. The ASMR for diabetes in the Status Indian population (2.5) was almost double the rate for all other B.C. residents (1.3). No trend was seen in these rates over the time period. The highest diabetes mortality rate was seen in the South Mainland Status Indian population (3.5) and the Status Indian rates were above the rates for other residents in both the South Mainland and Vancouver Island areas.

Circulatory System Diseases

Circulatory system diseases include heart diseases, cardiovascular disease or stroke, diseases of the arteries, cardiac dysrhythmia, cardiomyopathies, and congestive heart failure.

There were 1,319 Status Indian deaths from circulatory system diseases in the 1991-1998 period. This cause of death was responsible for almost a quarter (23.2%) of Status Indian deaths in the eight years and over one third (39.5%) of deaths of all other B.C. residents.
The Status Indian ASMR for deaths from circulatory system diseases (36.2 deaths per 10,000 standard population) was almost 60% higher than the rate of 22.9 for all other residents, however this gap was produced almost entirely by two areas. In both the South Mainland and Vancouver Island areas, the Status Indian ASMR was over 40 and almost twice the rates for other area residents. In the North West and North East areas, the Status Indian and 'All Others' mortality rates from circulatory system diseases were similar, ranging between 24.9 and 26.4.
Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in both provincial and area populations. There were 603 Status Indian deaths from ischaemic heart disease in 1991-1998, producing an ASMR of 19.0 per 10,000 standard population, compared to an ASMR of 11.9 for other residents.
Over the eight year period, both Status Indian and other area populations experienced slight improvements in the mortality rate from circulatory system diseases.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
Cerebrovascular disease/stroke was second leading cause of death in both the Status Indian (282 deaths and ASMR 9.9) and all other B.C. residents (16,693 deaths and ASMR 5.0). In both populations, the ASMRs for cerebrovascular disease/stroke were less than half the rates for ischaemic heart disease.

Respiratory System Diseases

Respiratory system diseases include pneumonia, influenza, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, and other chronic airway obstructions.

There were 432 Status Indian deaths from respiratory system diseases in the eight year period. The Status Indian ASMR for this cause of death was 11.6 per 10,000 standard population, compared to rate of 6.1 for other residents of the province. Over the eight year period, there was considerable variation in the annual ASMRs for Status Indian population between 9.4 (1995) and 19.9 (1993) while rates for other B.C. residents varied less (from a low of 5.9 in 1991 to a high of 6.4 in 1996).
Regionally, the two southern areas had the highest mortality rates from respiratory system diseases for Status Indians and the lowest rates for the rest of the area populations.
Almost half of the 30 infant deaths in 1991-1998 which were from respiratory system diseases were Status Indian babies (14 deaths). The proportion of deaths which were Status Indian was much lower in among children aged 1 to 14, where only five of the 48 deaths were Status Indian children.
Two thirds of Status Indian deaths from respiratory system diseases were seniors (aged 65 or older), while for the other B.C. residents more than 90 % were seniors. There were 233 'premature' deaths from respiratory system diseases (those under 95 years of age) in the Status Indian population. The younger age of Status Indian deaths from this cause is shown by the average potential years of life lost per death which was 22.0 years for Status Indians compared to only 9.5 years for other B.C. residents.
More than half of the Status Indian deaths from respiratory system diseases were from pneumonia/influenza (235 deaths). Pneumonia/influenza was the fourth leading cause of death in the Status Indian population with an ASMR of 6.1 per 10,000 standard population. This was almost double the rate of 2.8 for other B.C. residents. Among the Status Indian regional populations, the pneumonia/influenza mortality rate for Status Indians in the South Mainland (9.4) was higher than the other three areas which ranged from 4.8 to 5.4.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
Chronic pulmonary diseases (chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) caused 102 deaths in the Status Indian population between 1991 and 1998. The Status Indian ASMR was 3.2 deaths per 10,000 standard population, which was slightly higher than the rate of 2.4 for other B.C. residents. Chronic pulmonary diseases ranked eleventh in the list of leading causes of death for Status Indians and eighth among provincial leading causes.

Digestive System Diseases

Digestive system diseases include chronic liver disease/cirrhosis, ulcers, enteritis and colitis, and gastrointestinal hemorrhages.

There were 394 deaths in the Status Indian population from digestive system diseases in the 1991-1998 period. The Status Indian ASMR for this broad category was 9.8 deaths per 10,000 standard population, which was amore than three times the rate of 2.3 for other B.C. residents. For the four administrative areas, the highest ASMR for this cause was in the South Mainland for the Status Indian population (9.9) and the North East for all other area residents (2.9).
The largest sub-category of digestive system diseases was chronic liver disease/cirrhosis which ranked tenth in the list of leading causes of death in the Status Indian population, compared to twentieth in the list for other B.C. residents. There were 189 Status Indian deaths from this in the 1991-1998 period for an ASMR of 3.2 deaths per 10,000 standard population, which was five times the ASMR of 0.6 for all other B.C. residents.

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

Congenital Anomalies

This category consists of birth defects and chromosomal anomalies including Down's Syndrome.

In the 1991-1998 period, there were 46 deaths from congenital anomalies in the Status Indian population. The ASMR for this cause was 0.3 for both the Status Indian and other B.C. residents.

Perinatal Conditions

Deaths from conditions originating in the perinatal period (perinatal complications) include obstetric complications, immaturity, birth asphyxia, and respiratory distress syndrome.

There were 69 Status Indian deaths from perinatal conditions in the 1991-1998 period, for an ASMR of 0.4 per 10,000 standard population which was slightly above the rate for other residents of the province (0.3).

Risk Factors: Alcohol, Drugs, and Smoking

There were 1,336 alcohol-related deaths in the Status Indian population between 1991 and 1998. This category includes deaths where the underlying cause of death was related to alcohol, such as liver disease/cirrhosis, and 'indirect' alcohol deaths for which alcohol was noted on the medical certification of death form but the underlying cause of death was not due to alcohol.
In the Status Indian population there were 21.8 alcohol-related deaths per 10,000 standard population. This ASMR was dramatically higher than the rate of 3.5 for all other B.C. residents. The highest Status Indian mortality rate from this cause was in the South Mainland (29.4) and the lowest was in the North West area (13.2). The highest rate for other B.C. residents was 5.3 in the North West area.
There were 353 drug induced deaths in the Status Indian population in the eight year period. This grouping, based on underlying causes of death, includes drug dependence, accidental drug poisoning, and suicides involving drugs. Provincially, the ASMR for drug induced deaths was 3.8 for the Status Indian population and 1.1 for all other B.C. residents. Regionally, the South Mainland had the highest mortality rate from this cause, 5.4 for the Status Indian population and 1.2 for other residents of the area.
In the eight year period, 699 Status Indian deaths were attributed to smoking. For an explanation of the methodology, please refer to the glossary. The provincial ASMRs were 18.6 for Status Indians and 13.3 for other B.C. residents.

Accidents and Violence (External Causes of Death)

Deaths from external causes include motor vehicle traffic accident fatalities, accidental deaths from drowning, poisoning, falls, fire and flames, and deaths from intentional injuries such as suicide and homicide.

Accidents and violence were the cause of death in about 40% of Status Indian deaths of children between 1 and 19 years of age, and 35% of deaths of other children in the age group. Among deaths of young adults aged 20-24, approximately four out of five in both populations were due to accidents and violence.
In both the Status Indian and other B.C. residents, seven out of every ten deaths from accidents and violence were males.
Accidents and violence accounted for 1,603 Status Indian deaths, or two out of every seven Status Indian death in the eight years. Among other B.C. residents, less than one in ten was from external causes. The Status Indian ASMR is this category, 19.2 deaths per 10,000 standard population, was more than three and a half times the rate for other B.C. residents (5.2).
More than 63,000 potential years of life were lost in the Status Indian population due to deaths from accidents and violence. The average PYLL for these deaths was 40.6 years for Status Indians compared to 35.3 years for other B.C. residents.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
In the four areas, the Status Indian ASMRs for external causes of death were higher than those for other residents in every area. Of the Status Indian populations, the North West had the lowest ASMR for all external causes of death (11.8) which was roughly half the highest rate of 22.1 in the South Mainland.

Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents

Motor vehicle traffic accidents (MVTA) were responsible for the largest number of Status Indian deaths from external causes (390 deaths) in 1991-1998. The Status Indian ASMR for MVTA deaths (4.4 per 10,000 standard population) was four times the rate for all other residents of the province (1.1).

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
The regional ASMRs for MVTA deaths for Status Indians was highest in the North East (9.1 per 10,000 standard population) and lowest in the North West (2.0). For the other area resident in the four areas, the North East had the highest (2.1).
Approximately seven out of ten Status Indian deaths from MVTA were males. This pattern is also seen for other residents in the province. This is a major cause of death of young males between 15 and 24 years of age in both populations.

Accidental Poisoning

Accidental poisoning, which includes poisoning deaths caused by food, plants, chemicals, alcohol or drugs, was responsible for 349 Status Indian deaths in 1991-1998 and had the second highest ASMR among the external cause of death sub-categories. The Status Indian ASMR for accidental poisoning deaths (3.8 per 10,000 standard population) was more than four times the rate for other B.C. residents (0.9).
In the 1991-1998 period, 12 of the 59 children (age 19 or younger) who died from accidental poisoning were Status Indian children. Children accounted for 3.4% of all accidental poisoning deaths in the Status Indian population, but only 1.8% of deaths from this cause for other B.C. residents. The average PYLL for accidental poisoning deaths was 39.8 years for Status Indians was similar to 35.5 years for other B.C. residents.
Status Indians in the South Mainland had the highest ASMR for accidental poisoning deaths, 5.8 per 10,000 standard population, which was at least twice the ASMR for the Status Indian populations in other areas. It was also more than six times higher than the ASMR for accidental poisoning deaths for other residents in the South Mainland (0.9), which was the highest among the four areas.

Accidental Falls

Of all deaths from accidental falls over the eight year period, less than one in twenty was a Status Indian (106 Status Indian deaths out of 2,932). Generally, accidental falls resulting in death occur mainly in the elderly population. Among other B.C. residents, three quarters (95.0%) of deaths from accidental falls were seniors aged 95 or older. However, among Status Indians, only three out of ten (29.2%) were in this oldest age group.
The ASMR for deaths from accidental falls for 1991-1998 was 2.3 for Status Indians and 0.8 for other B.C. residents. The average PYLL for premature deaths from accidental falls (under 95 years of age) was 28.8 years for Status Indians compared to 22.8 years for other B.C. residents.
Status Indians in South Mainland and the North East areas had the highest 1991-1998 ASMRs for deaths from accidental falls, both at 2.5, while Vancouver Island and North West ASMRs were 1.9 and 1.8, respectively. The accidental falls ASMRs for other B.C. residents were lower than Status Indian rates, ranging from 0.9 in South Mainland to 1.1 in North West.

Suicide

There were 320 Status Indian suicides in the eight-year period; the Status Indian ASMR for suicide (3.3 per 10,000 standard population) was almost three times the rate for other B.C. residents (1.2). For other residents in the province, suicide was responsible for the largest number of deaths and had the highest ASMR among all the sub-categories of accidents and violence.
In the Status Indian population, suicide was the third highest sub-category of accidents and violence after motor vehicle traffic accidents and accidental poisoning. Males accounted for more than three-quarters of the suicide deaths between 1991 and 1998 in both populations.

[Click here to download a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet of the above table]
Among children (age 19 or younger), there were 54 Status Indian suicides and 168 suicides of other B.C. residents in 1991-1998. More than a quarter of the Status Indian deaths aged 15-19 were suicides (48 out of the 169 deaths in the age group), a percentage twice that for suicide deaths in this age group for other residents in the province (139 suicides out of 1034 deaths).
In the 1991-1998 period, the average age of Status Indian suicide deaths (of deaths under 95 year of age) was more than ten years younger than the average suicide for the rest of the B.C. population: 30.5 years old compared to 42.4, based on the average PYLL per death under 95 years.
Of the four areas, Vancouver Island had the highest suicide rates in both populations. The Vancouver Island ASMRs for suicide were 4.3 for Status Indians and 1.3 for all other area residents.

Homicide

Between 1991 and 1998, there were 114 Status Indian homicides. The Status Indian ASMR for homicides was 1.2 per 10,000 standard population, four half times the ASMR of 0.3 for other B.C. residents.
Over the 1991 to 1998 period, approximately two thirds of homicide victims were male in both populations.
The ASMRs for homicides for the Status Indian populations ranged from 0.4 per 10,000 standard population in the North West to 1.6 in the North East. The rates for the other area populations ranged between 0.2 and 0.3.

Fire and Flames

Out of 284 deaths from fire and flames in the province between 1991 and 1998, 61 occurred in the Status Indian population. Although the Status Indian ASMR was only 0.8 deaths per 10,000 standard population, this rate was eight times the rate for other B.C. residents of 0.1.
Fire and flames were responsible for 58 deaths of children (age 19 years or younger) during 1991-1998, 18 of which were Status Indian children.
Status Indians in Vancouver Island and the North East areas had ASMRs for deaths from fire and flames that were more than ten times the ASMRs for fire and flame deaths of other residents in these areas.

Drowning

There were 98 deaths from accidental drowning in the Status Indian population in the 1991-1998 period. Although the ASMR for drowning was only 0.9 per 10,000 standard population in the Status Indian population, this rate was four and a half times the rate for other B.C. residents of 0.2.
Over the 1991 to 1998 period, approximately four fifths of drowning deaths were male (89.9% of Status Indians and 83.1% for other B.C. residents).
There were 12 Status Indian children (age 19 years or younger) out of a total of 114 children in the province who died from accidental drowning in the eight year period.
The Status Indian ASMRs for drowning deaths were very similar in all the areas (ranging from 0.8 to 1.0 deaths per 10,000 standard population.)

Mortality Summary Tables and Figures


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