TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing population health in the United States and Canada
AU - Feeny, David
AU - Kaplan, Mark S.
AU - Huguet, Nathalie
AU - McFarland, Bentson H.
N1 - Funding Information:
The research reported in the paper was supported by grants to Mark Kaplan from the National Institute on Aging ("Longitudinal Analysis of Health-Related Quality of Life in an Aging Population," R21 AG027129-01) and the Retirement Research Foundation. The National Institute on Aging and the Retirement Research Foundation have neither reviewed nor approved of the manuscript.
PY - 2010/4/29
Y1 - 2010/4/29
N2 - Background: The objective of the paper is to compare population health in the United States (US) and Canada. Although the two countries are very similar in many ways, there are potentially important differences in the levels of social and economic inequality and the organization and financing of and access to health care in the two countries.Methods: Data are from the Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health 2002/03. The Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) was used to measure overall health-related quality of life (HRQL). Mean HUI3 scores were compared, adjusting for major determinants of health, including body mass index, smoking, education, gender, race, and income. In addition, estimates of life expectancy were compared. Finally, mean HUI3 scores by age and gender and Canadian and US life tables were used to estimate health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE).Results: Life expectancy in Canada is higher than in the US. For those < 40 years, there were no differences in HRQL between the US and Canada. For the 40+ group, HRQL appears to be higher in Canada. The results comparing the white-only population in both countries were very similar. For a 19-year-old, HALE was 52.0 years in Canada and 49.3 in the US.Conclusions: The population of Canada appears to be substantially healthier than the US population with respect to life expectancy, HRQL, and HALE. Factors that account for the difference may include access to health care over the full life span (universal health insurance) and lower levels of social and economic inequality, especially among the elderly.
AB - Background: The objective of the paper is to compare population health in the United States (US) and Canada. Although the two countries are very similar in many ways, there are potentially important differences in the levels of social and economic inequality and the organization and financing of and access to health care in the two countries.Methods: Data are from the Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health 2002/03. The Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) was used to measure overall health-related quality of life (HRQL). Mean HUI3 scores were compared, adjusting for major determinants of health, including body mass index, smoking, education, gender, race, and income. In addition, estimates of life expectancy were compared. Finally, mean HUI3 scores by age and gender and Canadian and US life tables were used to estimate health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE).Results: Life expectancy in Canada is higher than in the US. For those < 40 years, there were no differences in HRQL between the US and Canada. For the 40+ group, HRQL appears to be higher in Canada. The results comparing the white-only population in both countries were very similar. For a 19-year-old, HALE was 52.0 years in Canada and 49.3 in the US.Conclusions: The population of Canada appears to be substantially healthier than the US population with respect to life expectancy, HRQL, and HALE. Factors that account for the difference may include access to health care over the full life span (universal health insurance) and lower levels of social and economic inequality, especially among the elderly.
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U2 - 10.1186/1478-7954-8-8
DO - 10.1186/1478-7954-8-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 20429875
AN - SCOPUS:77951572920
SN - 1478-7954
VL - 8
JO - Population Health Metrics
JF - Population Health Metrics
IS - 1
M1 - 8
ER -