The burden of disease among Canadian children across age groups between 1990 and 2023

A shift has been seen in the causes of mortality and morbidity among children in high-income countries. However, the distribution of morbidity and mortality has not been described among children across age groups or over time in Canada.

Using the Global Burden of Disease database, causes of mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) according to ages <5, 5 to 9, 10 to 14 and 15 to 19, were extracted for Canada. Beyond extracting this data for Canada, the percent improvement of mortality rate and DALYs across the age groups for Canada was compared with 36 other high-income countries.

Child mortality rates have declined in Canada since 1990, particularly for children <5 years. However since 2020, mortality rates plateaued with the mortality rate for <5, 5 to 9, 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 year olds being 96 (95% CI: 92 to 99), 9 (95% CI: 8.7 to 9.6), 12 (95% CI: 11 to 13), and 39 (95% CI: 37 to 41) per 100,000, respectively, in 2023. The main cause of DALYs continues to be neonatal disorders in the <5 group, while mental health disorders have increased approximately by 1000 DALYs per 100,000 across 5 to 19 year olds since 1990. The progress made on reducing child mortality does not seem to be on par with other high-income countries.

Child mortality and morbidity have been reduced since 1990 for children <5 years; among older age groups, mortality has been reduced, but morbidity levels are similar or higher. Causes differ, but sustained action across the paediatric mortality and morbidity spectrum is needed to accelerate improvements.