A continuing pattern of decline of the sex differential in life expectancy in Canada: Early 1970s - Late 1990s

Frank Trovato, University of Alberta
N M Lalu

During the 20th century the sex differential in life expectancy at birth has widened considerably in the industrialized countries. A reversal in the long-term pattern of this differential has been noted for some countries during the 1970s and 1980s. For instance, in Canada, the differential peaked in the early 1980s and has been narrowing thereafter. In this study we investigate this phenomenon for Canada over roughly a thirty-year interval, from the early 1970s to the late 1990s. A decomposition analysis indicates that the narrowing of the sex gap in life expectancy has resulted mainly from reductions in sex differences in heart disease mortality, and to a lesser extent accidents and violence and lung cancer.