British Columbia's provincial health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, released his report on women's health in British Columbia today. Overall, the report finds that women in B.C. are among the healthiest in Canada, but health gaps persist.

The 2008 report, The Health and Well-Being of Women in British Columbia, is a follow up to the 1995 Feature Report: Women's Health. It takes a comprehensive look at the overall health and wellness of female British Columbians - from young girls to elderly women. It analyzes a variety of indicators, from overall health status to living conditions, reproductive health and rates of chronic disease and injury.

The majority of directly comparable indicators have improved since the 1995 report, with advances in life and health expectancy, lower teen pregnancy rates, increased access to preventive clinical services, income and representation in positions of influence.

The report also highlights areas where improvements still need to be made. Rates of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension, have been rising, and prevalence of depression and anxiety has increased since 1995, along with rates of sexually transmitted infections and Caesarean sections.

The Province is working to address many of these issues through strategies such as Healthy Families BC, which is an overarching health promotion and chronic disease reduction initiative; and through Healthy Minds, Healthy People: A Ten-Year Plan to Address Mental Health and Substance Use in B.C.

The report makes recommendations in the following categories: living and working conditions, violence, mental health and problematic substance use, reproductive health, chronic disease and injury, physical environment, and health services. In addition, the overarching recommendation is for a comprehensive strategy to improve overall health outcomes for women. Priority areas include income security, violence prevention, mental health and chronic disease prevention and management.

The full report can be found online at: www.health.gov.bc.ca/pho/reports/.

Quick Facts:

• British Columbians have one of the longest life expectancies in the world, and B.C. women gained an additional 3.2 years in life expectancy between 1990 and 2009. However, gains have been less than those of men, and B.C. women compare unfavourably when life expectancy rates of increase are compared with other OECD countries.

• There is a difference in life expectancy for B.C. women at age 25 of 4.6 years between the richest and poorest group of women.

• 56.5 per cent of females in B.C. report their health as very good to excellent

• 72.3 per cent rate their mental health as very good to excellent.

• HIV rates for women dropped between 2000 and 2009, from 4.1 per 100,000 to 3.2 per 100,000, while rates for Chlamydia and gonorrhoea have both increased.

• Women's employment is still focused in service industries, such as health care, finance and insurance, and education. However, they have made significant progress in professions such as secondary teachers and college instructors, where they hold the majority of positions.

• Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression have a significant impact on women's mortality, especially in younger age groups. Women with schizophrenia are especially vulnerable.

• 93 per cent of women surveyed in B.C. reported initiating breastfeeding, compared to the national average of 87 per cent. In 2007-08, B.C. ranked first among the provinces with approximately 38.2 per cent of mothers reporting exclusively breastfeeding for at least six months, compared to the national average of 23.1 per cent.

• The pregnancy rate for teens age 12-19 has dropped by about half from a high of 32.9 per 1,000 teen females in 1994 to 18.3 per 1,000 in 2007.

• In 2004-05, B.C. had one of the highest rates of caesarean deliveries in Canada, at 29.9 per cent of hospital deliveries.

• The percentage of midwife deliveries has more than doubled between 2000-01 and 2007-08.

• Girls achieved higher grades than boys in the three different streams of Grade 10 mathematics classes. Current data show that girls scored higher than boys in all science classes in grades 10 and 12.

• The number of students reporting that they have tried alcohol has continually decreased over the past several years to a rate of 54 per cent in 2008, compared to 58 per cent in 2003.

• In 2007-08, B.C. had the lowest rate of current tobacco smokers in the country at 14.9 per cent: 13.8 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men.

• The top five most commonly occurring chronic conditions for women are: hypertension (13.7 per cent), asthma (11.48 per cent), osteoporosis (eight per cent), osteoarthritis (6.63 per cent), and diabetes (4.77 per cent).

• Close to 20 per cent of women in prime childbearing years do not have a regular medical doctor.

• Hysterectomy rates vary widely between the health regions, with the Northern Interior HSDA having the highest rate at 624 per 100,000, with Vancouver lowest at 162 per 100,000.

Media Contact:

Ryan Jabs
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)