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Thursday, September 25, 2003

Nearly half of all non-reserve Canada Aboriginals suffer from one or more chronic conditions, according to the results of a health survey released on Wednesday.

Although a majority of non-reserve Natives report being in good or excellent health, they still fall behind the rest of the nation. According to Statistics Canada, 56 percent rate their health status positively, compared to 65 percent of the general population.

With more than 70 percent of Canada's Native population living in urban or rural areas, the survey is one of the best indicators of the health status of Indian, Inuit and Metis communities. Conducted in 2001, it reveals how Aboriginals feel about themselves and the challenges they face.

According to the survey, Native men were more likely than women to rate their health as excellent or very good. It showed that 59 percent of men did so compared to 54 percent of women.

Younger Aboriginals were more likely to report positive health status, the results showed. Nearly 70 percent of Natives aged 15-24 said they were in very good or excellent condition, almost the same as the general population.

Among older Natives, arthritis, rheumatism, high blood pressure and asthma were the most common chronic conditions. Diabetes came in fifth, but at a rate significantly higher than the rest of the country, the survey said.

"Seven percent of the Aboriginal non-reserve population reported diabetes, compared with 4.3 percent of the total Canadian population," the survey stated.

Although diabetes was more prevalent in older Native, it is being diagnosed at younger ages, the report said. Inuit adults did not have as high rates as other Natives but this could be attributed to lack of contact with medical professionals, according to the survey.

Statistics Canada reported on other areas besides health status. These included schooling, housing and water quality and language use.

More Native youth are finishing secondary or high school, the survey found. But nearly half fail to complete school, citing boredom or the need to work.

Non-reserve Natives live in overcrowded housing, raising the possibility of health problems, experts believe. Overcrowding was most evident in urban areas of Canada's largest cities. In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for example, 18 percent lived in crowded households, more than three times the proportion of 5 percent for the total population, the study said.

Native homes were also more likely to be in need of repairs, the survey noted. "Among Aboriginal people living in non-reserve areas, 18% lived in homes requiring major repairs compared with 8% for the total Canadian non-reserve population," it stated.

Among Inuits, water quality was a particular problem. About a third of the Inuit population said their water system was contaminated at one or more times of the year. In the North, 18 percent said they had unsafe drinking water

Language use is on the decline for non-reserve Natives, the survey reported. Less than half said they could speak their language very well. For Metis, the rates were far lower.

Of Canada's 700,000 Natives, about 46,000 are of Inuit ancestry, 295,000 are of Metis heritage and 358,000 are of Indian descent. Metis people do not have established reserves while Inuit tend to live in communities in the North. Among the Indian population, the majority live off their federally-recognized reserves.

Get the Study:
Aboriginal Peoples Survey: Well-being of the non-reserve Aboriginal population (Statistics Canada September 2003)

Relevant Links:
Statistics Canada - http://www.statcan.ca

Related Stories:
Effort called 'starting point' to better health (01/14)
Report documents off-reserve health (08/28)

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