Changes in Ill- Health of Population - Mortality Rate Indicators: Winnipeg Residents 1990-1996

All-age mortality indicators for males and females, cause-specific mortality measures, and deaths among residents aged 0 to 74 yrs, showed essentially no increases between 1990 and 1996. Preliminary 1997 data show the same patterns.
-Analyses of age-specific mortality rates for those aged 75 years and older revealed an increase only for residents aged 90+; this occurred between 1990 and 1991, prior to bed closures.
- Premature mortality rates increased for residents of lowest income neighbourhoods; because access to hospital services for this group did not change, this increase does not appear to be due to bed closures. Thus, residents who already had the highest premature mortality rate are even more likely to die early. The marked gradient in mortality rates according to income level suggests that forces other than hospital bed numbers are affecting health status.
See also: Bed Closures in Winnipeg: Problem or Progress