Health Reports, February 2026

Socioeconomic characteristics of people who died from substance-related acute poisoning deaths in Canada

Acute toxicity death (ATD), sometimes called an "overdose" or a "poisoning" death, refers to a death in which the underlying cause involved poisoning by or exposure to noxious substances. Such substances may include narcotics (such as opioids) or other controlled substances, alcohol or fuels. The drug poisoning crisis in Canada has affected some population groups more than others, yet national information about the characteristics of people most at risk of ATD has been lacking.

The study "Risk factors for substance-related acute toxicity deaths in Canada from 2016 to 2021: Findings from the 2016 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort" used 2016 Census data linked to Canadian Vital Statistics - Deaths data from 2016 to 2021 to provide national information about characteristics of population groups who experienced higher or lower ATD rates from May 10, 2016, to May 9, 2021, in Canada.

Results showed that 0.05% of Canada's household population (all ages), or over 18,500 people, died of acute toxicity during the five years that followed the 2016 Census. The national age-standardized mortality rate was 10.7 ATDs per 100,000 person-years. This means that, after adjusting for differences in age, almost 11 out of every 100,000 people died of acute toxicity over the course of one year. There was significant variation to this rate depending on population group characteristics.

For example, the prevalence of ATD among immigrants and non-permanent residents (nearly 5 ATDs per 100,000 person-years) and racialized persons (about 4 per 100,000) was lower after accounting for age differences. Meanwhile, renters had a higher ATD rate (nearly 22 per 100,000) than homeowners (7 per 100,000), as did people with relatively higher housing costs compared with others.

These results serve to highlight differences in ATD rates across specific population groups to inform plans aiming to reduce ATDs.

Comparison of physical activity and sedentary time measured with the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT and Actical accelerometers

For more than a decade, the Canadian Health Measures Survey tracked physical activity and sedentary time with the Actical accelerometer. A new study, entitled "Comparison of physical activity and sedentary time measured with the ActiGraph GT3X-BT and Actical accelerometers," examines the impact of switching from the Actical accelerometer to the ActiGraph wGT3x-BT accelerometer on estimates of sedentary time, physical activity and adherence to physical activity recommendations in Canada.