Health trends in Canada 1990-2019: An analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study

Jacek A Kopec; Farshad Pourmalek; Daniel A Adeyinka; Amin Adibi; Gina Agarwal; Samiah Alam; Zulfiqar A Bhutta; Zahid A Butt; Vijay K Chattu; Oghenowede Eyawo; Ghazal Fazli; Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad; Jeffrey J Hebert; Md Belal Hossain; Marcus M Ilesanmi; Ademola J Itiola; Haitham Jahrami; Niranjan Kissoon; Barthelemy K Defo; Om P Kurmi; Ali H Mokdad; Christopher J L Murray; Andrew T Olagunju; Seithikurippu R Pandi-Perumal; Scott B Patten; Ata Rafiee; Drona Prakash Rasali; Yaeesh Sardiwalla; Thirunavukkarasu Sathish; Marco Solmi; Ranjani Somayaji; Saverio Stranges; Marcello Tonelli; Ziyue Wang; Sanni Yaya; Frank J Elgar

doi:10.17269/s41997-024-00851-3

Health trends in Canada 1990-2019: An analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study

Can J Public Health. 2024 Apr;115(2):259-270. doi: 10.17269/s41997-024-00851-3. Epub 2024 Feb 15.

Authors

Jacek A Kopec^{1

2}, Farshad Pourmalek¹, Daniel A Adeyinka^{3

4}, Amin Adibi⁵, Gina Agarwal⁶, Samiah Alam⁷, Zulfiqar A Bhutta^{8

9}, Zahid A Butt^{10

11}, Vijay K Chattu^{12

13}, Oghenowede Eyawo¹⁴, Ghazal Fazli^{15

16}, Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad^{17

18}, Jeffrey J Hebert^{19

20}, Md Belal Hossain^{1

21}, Marcus M Ilesanmi^{3

22}, Ademola J Itiola²³, Haitham Jahrami^{24

25}, Niranjan Kissoon²⁶, Barthelemy K Defo^{27

28}, Om P Kurmi^{29

30}, Ali H Mokdad^{31

32}, Christopher J L Murray^{31

32}, Andrew T Olagunju^{33

34}, Seithikurippu R Pandi-Perumal³⁵, Scott B Patten³⁶, Ata Rafiee³⁷, Drona Prakash Rasali^{1

38}, Yaeesh Sardiwalla³⁹, Thirunavukkarasu Sathish⁴⁰, Marco Solmi⁴¹, Ranjani Somayaji^{42

43}, Saverio Stranges^{44

45}, Marcello Tonelli⁴⁴, Ziyue Wang^{46

47}, Sanni Yaya^{48

49}, Frank J Elgar⁵⁰

Affiliations

¹ School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
² Arthritis Research Canada, Richmond, BC, Canada.
³ Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
⁴ Department of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria.
⁵ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁶ Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
⁸ Centre for Global Child Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Centre of Excellence in Women & Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
¹⁰ School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
¹¹ Al Shifa School of Public Health, Al Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
¹² Department of Community Medicine, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Sawangi, India.
¹³ Saveetha Medical College, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
¹⁴ Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁵ MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁶ Interdisciplinary Centre for Health and Society, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁷ Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁸ Division of Neurology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
¹⁹ Faculty of Kinesiology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
²⁰ School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia.
²¹ James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
²² Health Planning, Research, Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.
²³ Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
²⁴ College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
²⁵ Ministry of Health, Manama, Bahrain.
²⁶ Department of Demography, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
²⁷ Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
²⁸ Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
²⁹ Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
³⁰ Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry, UK.
³¹ Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
³² Department of Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
³³ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
³⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
³⁵ Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
³⁶ Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
³⁷ Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
³⁸ Department of Data Analytic Services, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
³⁹ Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁴⁰ Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁴¹ Department of Neurosciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴² Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁴³ Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁴⁴ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁴⁵ Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg.
⁴⁶ Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴⁷ China Centre for Health Development Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
⁴⁸ School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴⁹ The George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁵⁰ School of Population and Global Health, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. frank.elgar@mcgill.ca.

PMID: 38361176
PMCID: PMC11027757 (available on 2025-02-15)
DOI: 10.17269/s41997-024-00851-3

Abstract
in English, French

Objective: Monitoring trends in key population health indicators is important for informing health policies. The aim of this study was to examine population health trends in Canada over the past 30 years in relation to other countries.

Methods: We used data on disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLL), years lived with disability, life expectancy (LE), and child mortality for Canada and other countries between 1990 and 2019 provided by the Global Burden of Disease Study.

Results: Life expectancy, age-standardized YLL, and age-standardized DALYs all improved in Canada between 1990 and 2019, although the rate of improvement has leveled off since 2011. The top five causes of all-age DALYs in Canada in 2019 were neoplasms, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, neurological disorders, and mental disorders. The greatest increases in all-age DALYs since 1990 were observed for substance use, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, and sense organ disorders. Age-standardized DALYs declined for most conditions, except for substance use, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, and musculoskeletal disorders, which increased by 94.6%, 14.6%, and 7.3% respectively since 1990. Canada's world ranking for age-standardized DALYs declined from 9th place in 1990 to 24th in 2019.

Conclusion: Canadians are healthier today than in 1990, but progress has slowed in Canada in recent years in comparison with other high-income countries. The growing burden of substance abuse, diabetes/chronic kidney disease, and musculoskeletal diseases will require continued action to improve population health.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: La surveillance des tendances des indicateurs clés de la santé de la population est importante pour éclairer les politiques de santé. Dans cette étude, nous avons examiné les tendances de la santé de la population au Canada au cours des 30 dernières années par rapport à d’autres pays. MéTHODES: Nous avons utilisé des données sur les années de vie ajustées en fonction de l’incapacité (DALY), les années de vie perdues (YLL), les années vécues avec un handicap, l’espérance de vie (LE) et la mortalité infantile pour le Canada et d’autres pays entre 1990 et 2019, fournies par l’Étude mondiale sur le fardeau de la maladie. RéSULTATS: L’espérance de vie, les YLL ajustées selon l’âge et les DALY ajustées selon l’âge ont tous connu une amélioration au Canada entre 1990 et 2019, bien que le taux d’amélioration se soit stabilisé depuis 2011. Les cinq principales causes des DALY pour tous les âges au Canada en 2019 étaient les néoplasmes, les maladies cardiovasculaires, les affections musculosquelettiques, les affections neurologiques et les troubles mentaux. Les plus fortes augmentations des DALY pour tous les âges depuis 1990 ont été observées pour l’usage de substances, le diabète et les maladies rénales chroniques, ainsi que les troubles des organes sensoriels. Les DALY ajustées selon l’âge ont diminué pour la plupart des conditions, à l’exception de l’usage de substances, du diabète et des maladies rénales chroniques, ainsi que des troubles musculosquelettiques, qui ont augmenté de 94,6 %, 14,6 % et 7,3 % respectivement depuis 1990. Le classement mondial du Canada pour les DALY ajustées selon l’âge est diminué de la 9ième place en 1990 à la 24ième place en 2019. CONCLUSION: Les Canadiens sont en meilleure santé aujourd’hui qu’en 1990, mais les progrès se sont ralentis ces dernières années par rapport à d’autres pays à revenu élevé. La croissance du fardeau lié à l’abus de substances, au diabète/maladies rénales chroniques et aux affections musculosquelettiques exigera des actions continues pour améliorer la santé de la population.

Keywords: Disability-adjusted life years; Global Burden of Disease Study; Population health.

MeSH terms

Canada / epidemiology
Child
Diabetes Mellitus*
Global Burden of Disease
Global Health
Humans
Life Expectancy
Musculoskeletal Diseases* / epidemiology
North American People*
Quality-Adjusted Life Years
Renal Insufficiency, Chronic*
Substance-Related Disorders*

Supplementary concepts

Canadian people

Abstract in English, French

MeSH terms

Supplementary concepts

Abstract
in English, French