Mortality patterns in geographical areas with a high vs. low Sami population density in Arctic Norway

The aim of this study was to study mortality patterns in the population in different geographical locations in northern Norway on the basis of Sami population density.

Mortality statistics by sex and age from 1991 to 2006 were obtained from Statistics Norway. Mortality rates, including infant mortality rates, were compared across geographical locations. The data material was divided into within and outside the the geographical areas of the Sami Development Fund (SUF) and into coastal and inland residence. Differences in mortality rates were tested by chi-quadrate tests.

Overall, no pronounced difference in mortality rate was found in the population between geographical areas. For men, mortality rates differed only between geographical residence in the time intervals 1991-95 and 1996-2000 for the age groups 45-59 years and 60-74 years, respectively, with outside SUF area, inland having the lowest rate. For women, there were no differences between geographical areas except for the age group 60-74 years in the time period 1991-95, where SUF coast had the highest mortality rate. For the SUF area, men had the lowest probabilities for surviving the age of 74 years and women had among the highest. No geographical difference was found in infant mortality. During the time period 1991-2006, the outside SUF area, inland had an average infant mortality rate of 1.8/1000 per year, and for SUF coast it was 6.2/1000 per year. This difference was, however, not significant (p = 0.08).

Overall, mortality rates were similar across geographical areas with low and with high Sami population density. However, indications of geographical differences in infant mortality should be investigated further.