Premature Mortality Due to Suicide, Homicide, and Motor Vehicle Accidents in Health Service Delivery Areas: Comparison of Status Indians in British Columbia, Canada, with All other Residents

Abstract

From each of 15 health regions, potential years of life lost (PYLL) before age 75 for Status Indians is compared for select causes of death with all other residents. Mortality data from 1991 to 2001 for rates of PYLL (standardized to the 1991 population) are from tables of the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency and First Nations and Inuit Health Branch in 2002. PYLL rate differences and rate ratios were compared for two groups with significance of the former indicated by the 95% confidence interval. Overall, the rates of PYLL for suicide, homicide, and deaths due to motor vehicle accidents were about 224%, 340%, and 248% higher among Status Indians than all other residents. Rates of PYLL for homicide and deaths from motor vehicle accidents among Status Indian women exceeded those of other residents who were men. For suicide, Status Indian men ranked first and all other male residents of British Columbia ranked second.

Flourishing

“…Mental health research with AI people, however, has overwhelmingly focused on disparities in negative mental health outcomes such as suicide, substance abuse, and psychological distress (Bridges and Kunselman 2005; Rieckmann et al 2012). This preoccupation on negative outcomes precludes the examination of how various social conditions and arrangements impact the full range of mental health outcomes (Aneshensel 2005).…”

“…Of direct relevance to this study, scholars have debated whether we should focus on positive or negative outcomes (Horwitz 2002). Mental health research with AI people has traditionally focused on disparities as measured by markers including high rates of suicide, substance abuse, and psychological distress (Bridges and Kunselman 2005; Rieckmann et al 2012). This exclusive focus on negative outcomes precludes the examination of how various social conditions and arrangements impact the full range of mental health outcomes (Aneshensel 2005).…”

Primary care visits due to injuries among the Aboriginal off-reserve population of British Columbia, Canada, 1991–2010

“…Two BC studies of mortality incidence used the province’s universal health care insurance program as a population registry, and identified Aboriginal people, within the population, and among death records, by record linkage, using a combination of insurance premium group, Indian status, and birth and death record notations [ 2 , 4 ]. The method included both on-reserve and off-reserve residents, but the analyses did not separate or compare the mortality experience of the two groups.…”

Elevated overdose mortality rates among First Nations individuals in a Canadian setting: a population‐based analysis

“…Similar to other indigenous populations in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, First Nations people suffer higher morbidity and mortality from varied causes including diabetes, circulatory conditions and infectious disease [29,32] alongside higher prevalence of some social, economic and environmental determinants of poor health, including poverty, lower educational attainment and substandard housing [29,30]. Despite a smaller at‐risk population, the incidence of fatal overdose estimated in our study is comparable to rates of death from suicide, homicide, motor‐vehicle collision and other accidents among First Nations in British Columbians [33]. Also, the burden of premature mortality from overdose is equal to approximately one‐quarter of the YPLL resulting from suicide [34].…”