The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Life expectancy in northern Saskatchewan is rising but remains considerably below the provincial average, a new study finds. The Northern Saskatchewan Health Indicators Report 2011 was released last week by the province's three northern health authorities, including Mamawetan Churchill River Health Region. 'It's encouraging to see that there has been some remarkable progress in the North in some conditions such as diarrheal and vaccine-preventable diseases,' said Dr. James Irvine, medical health officer for the three authorities. 'While infant mortality is going down, and life expectancy is going up, disparities remain.' Among those disparities is the fact that northern residents are living an average of five years less than Saskatchewan residents as a whole. And the northern infant death rate, while improving, remains 'substantially higher' than the provincial rate, a summary of the 192-page report states. That said, deaths from birth defects across the North have dropped by almost half over the last 25 years. For the northern population as a whole, the leading causes of death are injuries, cancer and circulatory diseases. Less common Premature deaths from injuries are becoming less common, though injuries still account for 44 per cent of such fatalities in the region _ more than twice the provincial rate. On the plus side, northern rates of cancer for males are lower than for the province as a whole. Rates of cancer in females are the same in northern and southern Saskatchewan. Prostate cancer is notably lower in northern Saskatchewan as cervical cancer rates drop; however, lung cancer is more common in the North. The study finds the impacts of circulatory diseases, such as heart disease, are on the rise, in part due to an aging population. Another factor: 65 per cent of northern Saskatchewan adults living off-reserve are considered overweight or obese. The study finds marked improvements in terms of northern rates of diarrheal diseases, hepatitis A and many vaccine-preventable diseases. See 'Rates...' on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 But rates of sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis C and tuberculosis remain significantly higher in the northern region compared to the rest of Saskatchewan. Tuberculosis rates in the North are over 90 times higher than in the province as a whole. On average, 40 per cent of those individuals with TB live off-reserve. HIV continues 'to emerge as an increasing issue' in both northern and southern Saskatchewan, the report finds, with the northern rate about equal to the provincial rate. Yet known cases of HIV remain quite rare, with about seven new cases being diagnosed across the North in each of the last several years. Dr. Irvine hopes the report will serve as a catalyst for action to address challenges in northern communities. 'This report will be very useful for setting priorities and planning programs for our health services,' added Ron Woytowich, chair of Mamawetan, whose region includes Creighton, Denare Beach and Pelican Narrows. 'We are reminded of the need to work in partnership with other sectors, and advocate for improvements in northern social and economic conditions, since we know that these can have impacts on health.' Indeed the report points out in detail how health is influenced by many realities beyond medical care, such as socioeconomic factors. Income is one of those factors. In the North, median income in 2006 was less than 60 per cent of the provincial median income. Moreover, close to one in four northern families is considered to have a low income _ almost 2.5 times more than the province as a whole. Still, the percentage of the northern residents on provincial welfare has decreased slightly over the past decade. Since 2005, the average number of monthly beneficiaries stabilized to around 4,800, or just fewer than 15 per cent of the population on Saskatchewan income support. Key determinant Education has long been known as a key determinant of health. In this regard, education levels in northern Saskatchewan are dramatically lower than those across the province. In 2006, just 25-50 per cent of the northern Saskatchewan population aged 25-29 had graduated from high school compared to 80-86 per cent for the province and Canada. Northern Sask-atchewan also had a low employment rate compared to other northern health regions in Canada. This is relevant since unemployed people tend to experience more health problems. Housing conditions, access to clean water, and air quality are meaningful factors in the physical environment that impact health. In 2006, northern Saskatchewan had almost four times the proportion of dwellings requiring major repair as did Saskatchewan. The North also had 10 times the rate of crowding, with more than one person per room, compared to the province. Northern Saskatchewan continues to have a young, growing populace. Between 1999 and 2009, the total population in northern Saskatchewan increased by nearly seven per cent, from 33,587 to 35,819. In 2010, nearly one-third of the population was under 15 years of age. Close to 36,000 people live in over 70 communities spread across northern Saskatchewan. Almost half of those individuals live in First Nations communities such as Pelican Narrows and Deschambault Lake.
