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Table 2
Ten leading causes of infant death, by sex, Canada
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Table 2
Ten leading causes of infant death, by sex, Canada1
  Deaths
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
  rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number
Both sexes  
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 1,911 ... 1,881 ... 1,771 ... 1,863 ... 1,775
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 414 1 408 1 409 1 447 1 412
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 256 2 249 2 228 2 224 2 252
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 3 150 3 181 3 147 3 170 3 143
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 4 144 5 107 4 131 5 93 4 106
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 107 4 113 5 106 4 112 5 84
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 60 6 70 7 50 6 79 6 71
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 48 8 38 10 32 10 37 10 31
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 8 43 7 58 6 58 8 53 8 53
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) 9 36 14 21 13 21 14 16 11 26
Respiratory distress of newborn (P22) 10 33 8 38 8 38 9 46 9 46
  rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 21.7 1 21.7 1 23.1 1 24.0 1 23.2
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 13.4 2 13.2 2 12.9 2 12.0 2 14.2
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 3 7.8 3 9.6 3 8.3 3 9.1 3 8.1
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 4 7.5 5 5.7 4 7.4 5 5.0 4 6.0
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 5.6 4 6.0 5 6.0 4 6.0 5 4.7
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 3.1 6 3.7 7 2.8 6 4.2 6 4.0
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 2.5 8 2.0 10 1.8 10 2.0 10 1.7
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 8 2.3 7 3.1 6 3.3 8 2.8 8 3.0
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) 9 1.9 14 1.1 13 1.2 14 0.9 11 1.5
Respiratory distress of newborn (P22) 10 1.7 8 2.0 8 2.1 9 2.5 9 2.6
  rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 505.7 ... 511.3 ... 499.4 ... 544.5 ... 526.6
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 109.6 1 110.9 1 115.3 1 130.6 1 122.2
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 67.7 2 67.7 2 64.3 2 65.5 2 74.8
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 3 39.7 3 49.2 3 41.5 3 49.7 3 42.4
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 4 38.1 5 29.1 4 36.9 5 27.2 4 31.4
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 28.3 4 30.7 5 29.9 4 32.7 5 24.9
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 15.9 6 19.0 7 14.1 6 23.1 6 21.1
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 12.7 8 10.3 10 9.0 10 10.8 10 9.2
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 8 11.4 7 15.8 6 16.4 8 15.5 8 15.7
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) 9 9.5 14 5.7 13 5.9 14 4.7 11 7.7
Respiratory distress of newborn (P22) 10 8.7 8 10.3 8 10.7 9 13.4 9 13.6
Ten leading causes of infant death, by sex, Canada: Part 2
  Deaths
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
  rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number
Males  
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 1,057 ... 1,043 ... 983 ... 1,030 ... 953
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 207 1 224 1 222 1 241 1 203
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 136 2 125 2 122 2 114 2 121
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 3 84 5 53 5 63 5 55 4 57
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 4 79 3 116 3 81 3 93 3 74
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 68 4 65 4 70 4 72 4 57
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 32 6 45 7 32 6 42 6 40
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 27 9 20 9 19 9 25 13 13
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 8 26 7 33 6 35 7 29 7 30
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) 9 24 14 10 13 11 14 8 10 16
Accidents (unintentional injuries) (V01-X59) 10 23 9 20 10 16 13 14 14 12
  rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 19.6 1 21.5 1 22.6 1 23.4 1 21.3
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 12.9 2 12.0 2 12.4 2 11.1 2 12.7
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 3 7.9 5 5.1 5 6.4 5 5.3 4 6.0
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 4 7.5 3 11.1 3 8.2 3 9.0 3 7.8
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 6.4 4 6.2 4 7.1 4 7.0 4 6.0
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 3.0 6 4.3 7 3.3 6 4.1 6 4.2
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 2.6 9 1.9 9 1.9 9 2.4 13 1.4
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 8 2.5 7 3.2 6 3.6 7 2.8 7 3.1
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) 9 2.3 14 1.0 13 1.1 14 0.8 10 1.7
Accidents (unintentional injuries) (V01-X59) 10 2.2 9 1.9 10 1.6 13 1.4 14 1.3
  rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 545.5 ... 553.8 ... 539.4 ... 587.3 ... 550.4
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 106.8 1 118.9 1 121.8 1 137.4 1 117.2
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 70.2 2 66.4 2 66.9 2 65.0 2 69.9
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 3 43.4 5 28.1 5 34.6 5 31.4 4 32.9
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 4 40.8 3 61.6 3 44.4 3 53.0 3 42.7
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 35.1 4 34.5 4 38.4 4 41.1 4 32.9
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 16.5 6 23.9 7 17.6 6 23.9 6 23.1
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 13.9 9 10.6 9 10.4 9 14.3 13 7.5
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 8 13.4 7 17.5 6 19.2 7 16.5 7 17.3
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99) 9 12.4 14 5.3 13 6.0 14 4.6 10 9.2
Accidents (unintentional injuries) (V01-X59) 10 11.9 9 10.6 10 8.8 13 8.0 14 6.9
Ten leading causes of infant death, by sex, Canada: Part 3
  Deaths
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
  rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number rank 3 number
Females  
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 854 ... 838 ... 788 ... 833 ... 822
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 207 1 184 1 187 1 206 1 209
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 120 2 124 2 106 2 110 2 131
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 3 71 3 65 4 66 3 77 3 69
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 4 60 4 54 3 68 5 38 4 49
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 39 5 48 5 36 4 40 7 27
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 28 6 25 8 18 6 37 6 31
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 21 8 18 11 13 11 12 9 18
Newborn affected by other complications of labour and delivery (P03) 8 18 13 12 7 21 7 29 5 34
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 9 17 6 25 6 23 8 24 8 23
Respiratory distress of newborn (P22) 10 15 10 14 9 16 8 24 9 18
  rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent rank 3 percent
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0 ... 100.0
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 24.2 1 22.0 1 23.7 1 24.7 1 25.4
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 14.1 2 14.8 2 13.5 2 13.2 2 15.9
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 3 8.3 3 7.8 4 8.4 3 9.2 3 8.4
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 4 7.0 4 6.4 3 8.6 5 4.6 4 6.0
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 4.6 5 5.7 5 4.6 4 4.8 7 3.3
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 3.3 6 3.0 8 2.3 6 4.4 6 3.8
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 2.5 8 2.1 11 1.6 11 1.4 9 2.2
Newborn affected by other complications of labour and delivery (P03) 8 2.1 13 1.4 7 2.7 7 3.5 5 4.1
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 9 2.0 6 3.0 6 2.9 8 2.9 8 2.8
Respiratory distress of newborn (P22) 10 1.8 10 1.7 9 2.0 8 2.9 9 2.2
  rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5 rank 3 infant rate 4 , 5
Total, all causes of infant death 2 (A00-Y89) ... 463.8 ... 466.8 ... 457.1 ... 499.4 ... 501.5
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) 1 112.4 1 102.5 1 108.5 1 123.5 1 127.5
Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) 2 65.2 2 69.1 2 61.5 2 65.9 2 79.9
Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01) 3 38.6 3 36.2 4 38.3 3 46.2 3 42.1
Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) 4 32.6 4 30.1 3 39.4 5 22.8 4 29.9
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95) 5 21.2 5 26.7 5 20.9 4 24.0 7 16.5
Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia (P20-P21) 6 15.2 6 13.9 8 10.4 6 22.2 6 18.9
Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) 7 11.4 8 10.0 11 7.5 11 7.2 9 11.0
Newborn affected by other complications of labour and delivery (P03) 8 9.8 13 6.7 7 12.2 7 17.4 5 20.7
Neonatal haemorrhages (P50-P52, P54) 9 9.2 6 13.9 6 13.3 8 14.4 8 14.0
Respiratory distress of newborn (P22) 10 8.1 10 7.8 9 9.3 8 14.4 9 11.0
The geographic distribution of deaths in this table is based on the deceased's usual place of residence. Counts in this table exclude deaths of non-residents of Canada.
An infant death is the death of a child under one year of age.
The ranking of the leading causes of death is based on the number of infant deaths.
The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants aged less than one year during a given year per 100,000 live births in the same year.
Infant mortality rate calculations in this table use live births in the calendar year as denominator (see the publication “Births” catalogue number 84F0210XIE).
Note(s):
See “Introduction”, “Glossary” and “Definitions, data sources and methods” sections.
Source(s):
Statistics Canada, Canadian Vital Statistics, Death Database (CANSIM table 102-0562).