Regional disparities in infant mortality in Canada: a reversal of egalitarian trends

BMC Public Health

Table 4 Correlation between infant mortality rates in the provinces and territories of Canada and subsequent change in infant mortality rates.

Index	Baseline period	Change to	Spearman's correlation coefficient (rho)	P value
Crude infant mortality rate
	1945–49	1955–59	0.01	0.99
	1955–59	1965–69	-0.55	0.10
	1965–69	1975–79	-0.85	0.002
	1965–69	1985–89	-0.90	<0.001
	1975–79	1985–89	-0.25	0.49
	1985–89	1995–99	0.20	0.58
	1985–89	2000–02	0.30	0.40
	1995–99	2000–02	-0.33	0.35
Infant mortality rate among live births ≥ 500 g*
	1965–69	1975–79	-0.84	0.002
	1975–79	1985–89	-0.36	0.31
	1985–89	1995–99	0.46	0.19
	1985–89	2000–02	0.82	0.004
	1995–99	2000–02	0.03	0.93
Infant mortality rate among live births ≥ 1,000 g
	1985–89	1995–99	0.56	0.09
	1985–89	2000–02	0.77	0.009
	1995–99	2000–02	0.13	0.73

* Data for 1985 to 2002 based on birth cohort data. Data for 1965–69 and 1975–79 assumes that all live births < 500 g died in infancy (see text). Estimates of the number of live births < 500 g in the Northwest Territories in 1965–67 were extrapolated from data from the Northwest Territories in 1968–69 [12, 13].

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