Prevalence of Chronic Disorders
A survey¹ of adult residents of Leeds Grenville and Lanark (LGL) asked about the prevalence of chronic disorders. This survey provides estimates of the prevalence of certain chronic disorders, such as asthma at 11.9% and high blood pressure at 16.5 % of the adult population surveyed (fig1_chronic). The Canadian; Community Health Survey 2003 reported a prevalence of high blood pressure in the population 12 and over of 15.5%, compared to 14.7% provincially.

Functional Health Status
The Canadian Community Health Survey 2001 provides some indication of the extent of functional health problems. In LGL, 20.2 % of respondents aged 12 and over reported either moderate or severe functional health problems, almost identical to the Ontario overall estimate of 20.1% (fig2_chronic).

Cancer
Mortality: A report from the Health Information Partnership Eastern Ontario region² provides a picture of cancer mortality in the eastern Ontario region and in the Leeds Grenville and Lanark region. Cancer mortality appears to be slightly higher in Eastern Ontario than in Ontario. In LG&L, the average age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 population for the period 1997-1999 was 187.1 compared to 176.0 for Ontario .
The table below provides mortality statistics for specific cancers:

Incidence: The Ontario Cancer Registry provides information on residents who have been newly diagnosed with cancer. Age-standardized rates for major primary cancer sites for Leeds Grenville and Lanark area and for the province of Ontario suggest that overall cancer incidence is higher than in LGL than in Ontario. This is especially evident for lung cancer. In males, LGL has not experienced the declines in incidence seen in the province as a whole. In females, and in both sexes combined, lung cancer incidence was significantly higher in LGL than in Ontario in the period 1997-2000. Incidence of melanoma of the skin was also significantly higher in LGL than in the province overall over this same period (fig4_chronic).

Circulatory Diseases
Circulatory disease continues to be the leading cause of death in LGL and in Ontario. LGL continues to show higher mortality rates for circulatory disease than the province as a whole. The average age-standardized mortality rate for the period 1997-1999 was 256.2 for LGL compared to 230.6 for Ontario².

For ischemic heart diseases, the corresponding rates were 160.0 for LGL compared to 132.5 for Ontario².

Age-standardized mortality rates for cerebrovascular diseases have in general been falling between 1986 and 1999. In LGL the age standardized rate for 1997-1999, on average, was 48.1 compared to 46.4 for Ontario².

Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) is another way of looking at mortality. PYLL is a mortality indicator that measures the number of years of life lost by someone who dies prior to age 75. It is a measure of premature death. For circulatory disease , the PYLL in Canada for 1996 was 1,020.27 per 1000,000 persons aged 0-74. In Ontario the comparable rate was 979.3 , and in LG&L rate was 1462.6, indicating a high rate of premature death from circulatory disease compared to these larger jurisdictions.

Diabetes
Information about the prevalence of diabetes in the counties of Ontario was recently provided in a study carried out at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences³. The prevalence of diabetes is somewhat higher in men than women (fig5_chronic). While the prevalence of diabetes in adults is lower in LGL relative to Ontario as a whole, it is increasing in a significant way similar to the provincial average (fig6_chronic). The increase observed in age-adjusted prevalence rates between 1995 and 1999 was about 33% in Lanark and 26% in Leeds and Grenville compared to 32% in Ontario.

Notes
¹ Ontario Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System, data collected March-December 2003
² Health Information Partnership Eastern Ontario Region. Mortality in Eastern Ontario, 1986-1999. Kingston Ontario. September 2003.
³ Data source: ICES Practice Atlas: Diabetes in Ontario. Chapter 1, Patterns of Prevalence and Incidence of Diabetes. Jan E. Hux and Mei Tang. www.ices.on.ca

Smoking (smoking.doc)

Obesity, Physical Activity and Dietary Practices
Obesity is commonly measured by the Body Mass Index. Results from the Canadian Community Health Survey 2003 show that a substantial proportion of the residents of LGL are categorized as obese, and an additional even larger proportion are overweight. While males and females appear in the obese category in similar proportions, males are more frequently categorized as overweight than females (fig7_chronic).
The proportion of residents aged 12 and over in LGL who describe themselves as physically active in their leisure time is low - less than 25% in 2001 (fig8_chronic).
Consumption of fruit and vegetables in the amounts recommended by Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating is commonly considered an indicator of healthy eating. As throughout Ontario, residents of Leeds Grenville and Lanark proved to be reluctant to consume the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables (fig9_chronic).


Sun Safety - Adult residents of Leeds Grenville and Lanark were surveyed in 2003 as to their practice of sun safety behaviours. About 36% reported having experienced a sunburn at some time in the last year. Younger adults were most likely to report having experienced a sunburn  (fig10_chronic).
The use of different strategies to protect against the sun's rays often varied according to sex. Females were more likely than males to use sunscreen, while males were more likely to use protective clothing, including a hat. Use of sunglasses was fairly consistent for males and females, while sun avoidance between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4p.m. was more commonly practiced by females than males (fig11_chronic).

Cervical Cancer Screening
The Canadian Community Health Survey asked women aged 18 to 69 when they had last had a pap smear. Just under 50% reported having had a pap smear less than a year ago,,and a further 25% during the interval of one year to less than three years ago. These practices appear to be very similar to those observed provincially.

Breast Cancer Screening
The Canadian Community Health Survey asks women aged 50-69 about mammograms for routine screening. In 2003, 43.6% of women in surveyed in LGL reported having received a routine screening mammogram within the last two years, a very similar proportion to that found in 2001 of 42.6. The provincial average in 2003 was estimated to be 49.8. A significant proportion of women also reported having had a mammogram for reasons other than routine screening.