1. From the Statistics Canada 'The Daily' comes news about Adult Literacy
Survey
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050511/d050511b.htm
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey 2003

The challenge to improve literacy performance among Canadians is far from
over, according to the first round of a major new survey that measured
literacy skills among individuals aged 16 to 65 in Canada and six other
countries in 2003.

As in 1994, a significant number of Canadian adults had low-level literacy
skills which may have had an impact on their participation in society and
in the economy.

The Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey tested more than 23,000
Canadians in 2003 on their skills proficiency in four scales: prose,
document, numeracy and problem-solving. Skills were rated on the basis of
levels one to five, that is, lowest to highest. [snip]

2. News from Statistics Canada Population Health Survey can be read as
'Unhealthy habits of middle-age affect seniors' OR Poverty affects health
more than smoking [according to CBC]

National Population Health Survey: Healthy aging 1994/95 to 2002/03
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050509/d050509a.htm

Canadians maintaining healthy behaviours are more likely to stay in good
health, according to a new study. The study suggests that unhealthy habits
may not have an immediate impact on the middle-aged adults but they tend
to catch up to seniors as life goes on.

According to the new study, which follows the same Canadians over an
eight-year period, unhealthy behaviours such as smoking, physical
inactivity and unhealthy weight were associated with decreasing chances of
healthy aging among seniors (65 and older).

Among middle-aged adults aged 45 to 64, socio-economic characteristics
such as the education level and household income were more important
determinants of healthy aging than healthy behaviours...

-------------
This last point was the highlight of the CBC news story, and the Social
Determinants of Health listserv posting, and merits a closer look:

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/05/09/Poverty050509.html

CBC News REGINA - Poverty erodes a person's health more than smoking,
drinking or lack of exercise, a Statistics Canada study suggests.

Education and income were more important for middle-aged health than
acting healthy, said the study, released on Monday, May 9, 2005. "Among
middle-aged adults aged 45 to 64, socio-economic characteristics
such as the education level and household income were more important
determinants of healthy aging than healthy behaviours," it said.

Dennis Raphael in the SDOH list further explored this issue:
"Note the following statement from the Statistics Canada report that
showed that income was a stronger determinant of health than smoking among
middle-aged Canadians.  Rather than address the issue of raising the
income of low income people, it suggests that we find means of weakening
the income-health relationship [if that is possible]."
   [Healthy aging report] "The effect of household income on healthy aging
for middle aged adults raises the need for a better understanding of
the mechanisms by which low income impacts health. A better
understanding of these mechanisms could allow policy makers to develop
programs to reduce this effect, thus improving population health."
[snip]

[dr] "Going inside the report one finds that income has a risk ratio of
1.3 for staying healthy, while smoking carries a 1.2 risk ratio for the
same."
http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/82-618-MIE/82-618-MIE2005004.htm
--------------------------------

Comments on the various interpretations that can be taken of these two
studies? How would you use or interpret the results of these two surveys?


Alison Stirling

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