Edmonton inner-city among the highest male premature death rate: report

A new report from Movember Canada has found that two Edmonton ridings — Downtown Edmonton and Edmonton Griesbach — have some of the highest rates of premature male deaths in the country.

The report, released during Men’s Health Week, outlines key challenges impacting men’s health across Canada, with a focus on premature mortality, access to healthcare and the wider social effects of poor health outcomes.

According to the findings, more than two in five Canadian men will die prematurely, before the age of 75, from largely preventable causes. The report stresses that health outcomes are not evenly distributed and depend on factors such as socioeconomic status, geography and access to resources.

“There’s also some issues around drug toxicity deaths in higher numbers and that implications for the death rates and high death rates for males in those areas,” said John Oliffe, a co-author of the report.

The data, broken down by federal ridings, shows higher premature mortality rates in certain urban centres. Oliffe said that factors such as alcohol and drug use, mental health challenges and a concentrated homeless population in Edmonton’s core contribute to the troubling statistics.

“Low levels of education and levels of income have inflicted this poor outcomes for particular groups,” said Oliffe.

For emergency room physician Dr. Louis Francescutti, the findings are not surprising. He pointed to Edmonton’s inner-city homeless population, which is largely made up of men, as particularly vulnerable.

“When you get the diagnosis of being homeless, that increases your likelihood of death by 20 per cent and if you’re homeless, your health is going to be in the worst shape. You’re going to have infectious diseases, you’re not going to be getting screening, you won’t be getting immunization, you won’t be getting proper treatment,” said Francescutti, who works at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Francescutti also noted the ongoing stigma around men asking for help. He said hospitals and clinics need to do more to eliminate that stigma and improve disease prevention efforts.

“You should be able to phone a number, get a family doctor and he or she should be able to see you quite quickly and then do a screening of what is required for you … so there’s a lot we can do, but there needs to be a system,” he said.

The report also explores the ripple effect of poor men’s health, noting that the consequences extend beyond individuals to their partners, families and communities — often placing a significant emotional and economic burden on caregivers.

Movember Canada says it hopes the findings will spark more conversations about men’s health and lead to better support systems across the country.