Causes and contributions to differences in life expectancy for Inuit Nunangat and Canada, 1994-2003

The objective of this article is to measure the contributions of age groups and causes of death to differences in mortality and life expectancy between residents of Inuit Nunangat and the rest of Canada.

The geographic area of coverage includes communities within Inuit Nunangat, with the addition of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. Deaths were compiled for 2 5-year periods, 1994 through 1998 and 1999 through 2003, with the mid-year centred on the 1996 and 2001 censuses.

Abridged life tables were constructed according to the revised Chiang method. Age decomposition of differences in life expectancy and cause-deleted life tables were calculated using a discrete approach. The age groups and causes contributing to differences in life expectancy between Inuit Nunangat and the rest of Canada were calculated.

Specific age groups contribute more to the difference in life expectancy between Inuit Nunangat and the rest of Canada. For males, over 50% of the difference in life expectancy is due to excess mortality before 25 years of age, while for females nearly 65% is due to excess mortality after the age of 60.

Cancer is a major contributor to the difference in life expectancy between residents of Inuit Nunangat and the rest of Canada; reduction in cancer rates would make the greatest contribution to gains in life expectancy. There are clear gender differences in life expectancy and mortality, with the total effect of mortality being greatest for males between 15 and 25 years of age and for females over the age of 60.