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Executive Summary
The
community health status report, "Health
Status 2000", was first published by the
health unit in April 2000. It was created to
ensure that we can effectively focus our programs
and services. Over time, it will also allow us to
evaluate the effectiveness of our programs and
track changes and trends in the health of
residents. It will also be used to measure the
community's progress towards its health goals.
The report provides information about what makes
us healthy, the determinants of health. This
includes a wide range of factors including age,
sex, lifestyle behaviours, social support
networks, education, the quality of our water and
air and the environments in which we live and
work.
This report will be updated on an ongoing
basis.
At minimum, annual updates will be produced and
available to the public.
Environments
The
population
 In 1996 there were
156,128 people living in Leeds, Grenville and
Lanark (LGL) 76,485 males and 79,645 females
- Between 1991 and 1996 the population
in LGL grew 7.6%, this was more than any other
health unit area in eastern Ontario
- By the year 2021 it's expected that
the population in the region will increase 28%
with approximately 220,000 people living in
the region
- Older adults (65 and older) accounted
for 15% of the population in 1996. This was
greater than in Ontario, where only 12% of the
population was 65 and older
- LGL is largely a rural region. More
than 60% of all residents live in rural,
rather than urban areas.
- There are relatively more children
and adolescents living in rural areas, while
older adults tend to live in urban areas. In
some cities and towns, such as Perth, Smiths
Falls, Prescott, Westport, more than 20% of
the population was 65 and older
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Social
Environments
- In Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL)
almost 90% of residents 12 and older reported
high levels of social support.
- In 1996, about half of residents in LGL
had not progressed beyond high school education,
about the same as in Ontario. Among residents
who gained some post-secondary education, fewer
attended university and more attended college
and other non-university education, compared to
in Ontario.
- In 1996, 43% of all families in LGL
were husband-wife families with children living
at home
- The percent of lone-parent families has
increased from 9% of all families in 1991 to 11%
of all families in 1996.
Physical
Environments
- In LGL there are no provincial air
quality monitoring stations, the closest
stations are located in Kingston and Ottawa.
- In 1996, 10% more of LGL's working
population used cars or trucks rather than
public transportation to get to work than in
Ontario.
- In 1996, the percentage of homes in
which there is regular environmental tobacco
smoke was higher than in LGL than in Ontario.
- In 1996 & 1997 there were no
bacteriological exceedances discovered through
the testing of municipal water plants.
- Private wells provide water to about
60% of residents.
- Recreational public beaches were closed
12% of the time, on average between 1995-1997
- The 1996 Statistics Canada Census found
that 9% of the homes in LGL were in need of
major repairs.
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Economic
Environments
- According to the 1996 Census about 12%
of all people living in private households lived
below the low-income cut-off in LGL. This was an
increase from 1991 when about 9% of the
population lived below the low-income cut-off.
- In LGL many of the people living below
the low-income cut-off were living in cities
rather than in more rural areas.
- In 1996, people in LGL working full
time earned less than the average income of all
people working full time in Ontario.
- In LGL, fewer men who were earning an
employment income worked part-time or for part
of the year than women.
- Unemployment rates in LGL were similar
to those in Ontario, in 1996.
Health
Measures
Chronic
Disease Prevention
- Cancer, in its many forms was the
second leading cause of death in LGL in 1996.
- Well over half of all new cancers
among each sex are accounted for by just three
cancer sites: prostate, lung, and colorectal
in men, breast, lung, and colorectal in women.
- Between 1994-1996, mortality among
men from lung, prostate and oral cancer was
higher in LGL than in Ontario.
- Between 1994-1996, mortality among
women from lung cancer was higher in LGL than
in Ontario
- In LGL about 39% of all deaths in
1996 were due to cardiovascular diseases.
Ischemic heart disease, was responsible for
about 60% of these deaths.
- Between 1994-1996, mortality from
stroke and Ischemic heart disease was higher
in LGL than Ontario.
- The prevalence of obesity among
younger adults (20-44) living in this region
is significantly higher than in Ontario.
- In LGL, a nutritious food basket cost
a family of four $115 per week in
2000, $114 per week in 1999, this
is an increase from $106 per week in 1998.
- In the combined regions of Leeds,
Grenville and Lanark, Kingston, Frontenac,
Lennox and Addingtion and Hastings and Prince
Edward, there were more current smokers, and
more former smokers in 1996, when compared to
the Ontario.
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Child
Health
- In 1996, children (persons under 19)
made up 27% of the population in LGL.
- Between 1981 and 1996, injuries
accounted for 34% of all deaths among children
in LGL.
- In LGL, the infant mortality rate
(deaths among children under 1) has dropped
significantly in the last fifteen years.
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
accounted for 22% of all neonatal deaths (deaths
in the first seven days of life) between 1981
and 1996 in LGL.
- Asthma is one of the leading causes of
hospitalization among children. Between
1994-1997, it accounted for 10% of all
hospitalizations among children 0-4 years old in
LGL.
- The dental health of children in LGL
has improved significantly over the past 20
years.
Injury
Prevention including Substance Abuse Prevention
- In Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, in1996,
injuries were the fourth leading cause of death
and the third leading cause of potential years
of life lost.
- Between 1994-1996, falls accounted for
53% of all injury deaths among women and 20%
among men, in LGL.
- In 1996, in the combined regions of
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, Kingston Frontenac
Lennox and Addington and Hastings and Prince
Edward (LGL/KFLA/HPE) 75% of the population 12
and older reported drinking at least one drink
in the past year.
- In LGL/KFLA/HPE twenty seven percent of
men who drink reported consuming five or more
drinks on one occasion at least once a month
compared to ten percent of women who drink.
- In LGL/KFLA/HPE, 11% of men and 3% of
women reported driving after drinking too much,
at least once in the year before being asked in
the 1996 Ontario Health Survey.
- In 1996, less than half of residents,
12-19 years olds reported wearing a helmet every
time they rode a bicycle.
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Sexual
Health
- It appears that many people living in
the combined regions of Leeds, Grenville and
Lanark, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and
Addington, and Hastings and Prince Edward (LGL/KFLA/HPE)
may be at risk for HIV and other sexually
transmitted diseases as a result of their sexual
behaviour.
- Compared to Ontario, local residents
begin sexual relationships at younger ages.
- In Ontario, 41% of 15-19 year olds,
reported ever having sex compared to 54% of
15-19 year olds in LGL/KFLA/HPE.
Reproductive
Health
- In Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL),
the number of live births increased steadily
between1981 and 1992. The number peaked in 1992
at 2088 live births and has been falling ever
since.
- Compared to Ontario, fertility rates
had been higher in LGL every year between 1981
and 1996.
- Women are giving birth at older ages
now than in the early 1980's.
- In 1995 the teenage pregnancy rate in
LGL was much lower than in Ontario.
- In 1996, the low birth weight rate in
LGL was the lowest its been since 1991.
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Communicable
Diseases and Immunization
- In Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL),
Salmonella, Giardia and Campylobacteur are the
most frequently reported types of food and water
borne diseases.
- Chlamydia was the most frequently
reported sexually transmitted disease in LGL in
1997. There were 55 incident cases (new cases)
per 100,000 people. This is almost half the rate
observed in all of Ontario in 1997 (92 cases per
100,000).
- Incidence rates of tuberculosis and
vaccine preventable diseases were lower in LGL
than in Ontario between 1990 and 1997.
- Influenza vaccination coverage rates
for staff and residents of long term care
facilities in LGL exceeded the Ministry of
Health goal of 75% coverage in 1999.
- In the 1998-1999 school year,
vaccination coverage rates among grade 7
students in LGL for MMR, Dpt, Polio and
Haemophilus B, were lower than the Ministry of
Health goals.
Life
Expectancy, Deaths and Hospitalizations
- Based on the current death patterns in
LGL a child born in 1996 could expect to live to
the age of 77
- Compared to Ontario, mortality is high
in LGL. Overall, and in thirteen of the nineteen
major classifications of disease (ICD Chapters),
mortality was higher in LGL than in Ontario
between 1994-1996.
- Circulatory diseases (39%), cancers
(27%) and respiratory diseases (10%) accounted
for about 75% of all deaths in LGL in 1996.
- Between 1993-1997, the leading causes
of hospitalization in LGL were circulatory
disease (2055 hospitalizations per 100,000
people), followed by pregnancy (1400 separation
per 100,000 people) and digestive disease (1327
hospitalizations per 100,000 people).
- Women were more likely to be
hospitalized than men.
- Women were more likely to be
hospitalized for cancer, some mental disorders,
digestive and genitourinary disease. Men on the
other hand, were more likely to have been
hospitalized for circulatory and respiratory
diseases.
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