The young and the reckless

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The young and the reckless

Regardless of the generation, adolescence is a time of emotional turbulence, of testing limits and taking risks. For most Canadian youth, therefore, illness is less of a threat than are accidents or suicide.

About one-half of all deaths among children aged 10 to 14 are due to external causes, most commonly, car crashes. Among 15- to 19-year-olds, external causes account for nearly eight in 10 deaths among boys and seven in 10 among girls. In 1993, car accidents were the leading external cause of death, responsible for about four in 10 deaths among older teens.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers aged 15 to 19. Between 1986 and 1990, 13 of every 100,000 young people in this age group killed themselves, accounting for nearly one-quarter of all teenage deaths.

Over the past 30 years, the suicide rate among 15- to 19-year-olds has increased nearly fivefold for males and threefold for females. Much of this increase is likely due to improved accuracy in reporting suicide as a cause of death, against a backdrop of more openness and less social and religious stigma. Experts have found that students who feel engaged in and appreciated by their school and community, and who have adequate life skills, are less likely to try to take their own lives.

Table: Suicides and suicide rate, by sex and age group

A long-term study of substance abuse among Canadian teenagers, spanning a period of 18 years, found that between 1993 and 1995, after a decade of steady declines, there were significant increases in the number of Ontario students in Grades 7 and up who used tobacco and illegal drugs. The biggest increases were in the use of cannabis (marijuana and hashish) and hallucinogens such as mescaline and psilocybin ("magic mushrooms").

Over the two-year period, tobacco use in this age group jumped to 28%, the highest level since 1983. Because more than eight in 10 adult smokers pick up the habit before age 20, smoking in the teenage years can have serious consequences. In 1994, nearly one-third of all Canadian 19-year-olds were smokers and more than three-quarters of them smoked daily.

Teenagers take other risks as well. In 1994-95, only 8% of teenagers aged 15 to 19 wore a helmet when they rode a bicycle. Between 1980 and 1994, nearly six in 10 of the 1,665 bicyclists killed in Canada were under the age of 20, and almost two-thirds died of head injuries.

Similarly, in 1992, a British Columbia survey found that more than half of all 17-year-olds in the province were sexually active, but fewer than six in 10 had used a condom the last time they had sex.

Table: Live births, by age of mother

Comparing the statistics on teen pregnancy in 1974 and 1994, there are many differences. Teen pregnancy rates are generally on the rise. In 1994, there were 48.8 pregnancies for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 19, a rate not seen since the late 1970s. However, the number of live births to teenagers is down because the proportion of pregnancies ending in abortion is up. In fact, the proportion nearly doubled between 1974 and 1994: from 26% to 45%. The other big difference is that most teen mothers (81%) were single at the time they had the baby. In 1974, only one-quarter were single.

Table: Age-specific fertility rate

ADULTHOOD

Apart from the odd injury or bug, most Canadian adults are, on the whole, in good health. Many of us could, however, make changes to our lifestyles that would help us feel even better.

Table: Percentage of drinkers in the population, 1996-1997

Smoking is widely acknowledged as the biggest preventable cause of illness and death in industrialized countries. In Canada, it has been estimated that smoking leads to nearly one in five deaths-more than deaths from suicide, vehicle crashes, AIDS and murder combined. Although tobacco use has declined since the 1970s, nearly 7 million Canadians—31% of Canadians over the age of 15—smoked in 1994, and most smoked every day.

Table: Percentage of smokers in the population, 1996-97

Partly as a result of a lack of physical exercise, 46% of adults in Canada are at least somewhat overweight. In fact, nearly one-third of us are obese, to the point of probable health risk. Excess weight is linked to such conditions as circulatory disorders, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, sleep disturbances, certain cancers and diabetes.

Table: Exercise frequency, 1996-97

In 1994-95, only 43% of adults were a healthy weight. At the same time, about 25% of women aged 20 to 24 were underweight, as were almost 10% of men in the same age group.

The proportion of Canadians claiming that nutrition is very important is up. In 1994, some 66% of us supported this idea, up from 59% five years earlier. In the past 20 years, Canadians have cut down on the consumption of red meat, butter and sweets and have begun to eat more high-fibre cereals, poultry, fish, low-fat proteins and fresh fruits and vegetables. Yet, only 43% of us (mostly women and the elderly) would rate our eating habits as very good to excellent.

SENIORS

In 1994, almost three in four seniors—those aged 65 and upwards—living at home rated their health as good to excellent. Even among people aged 85 and over, more than three in four rated their health as good or very good.

But the "golden years" do not arrive free of life's scars. In 1994-95, three-quarters of Canadians aged 55 and over—4.3 million people in all—said they suffered from chronic pain or discomfort, and about one in six claimed that health conditions kept them from their daily activities. The most common health concerns were arthritis, rheumatism, back pain and high blood pressure.

Table: Long-term limitation of activity, 1996-97

Chronic ailments become more common with age. Since women generally live longer than men, they are also more likely to develop a physical disability sometime in their lives. For example, in 1994-95, some 38% of women aged 75 and older had at least one physical limitation, compared with 29% of men. In contrast, only one in 10 people aged 55 to 64, of either gender, experienced such long-term ailments.

Table: Primary condition responsible for limitation of activity, 1996-97

The leading causes of death for seniors are diseases of the circulatory system, specifically, heart diseases. In 1993, circulatory diseases were responsible for more than four in 10 deaths among older men and nearly half of deaths among senior women.

By 2041, an estimated 23% of the population will be aged 65 and older, nearly double the proportion in 1995. As a result, there will likely be large numbers of people living with chronic disease. The aging baby boomers will no doubt place unprecedented stress on the health-care system.

Excerpts from Canada Year Book 1999: The People > Health