Major causes of death and hospitalization in Canadian seniors

Abstract

Since Canadian seniors are living longer, their proportion of the general population is getting increasingly larger. This paper focuses on presenting the leading causes of death and hospitalization in seniors (aged 65 and over), examining interprovincial differences and comparing trends from one decade to another. Although both mortality and hospitalization rates for coronary heart disease were found to be stable or falling during the past couple of decades, it remains the leading cause of death and hospitalization for both sexes. Lung cancer; stroke; chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma; pneumonia; and accidental falls are some of the other major causes of death and/or hospitalization in seniors.