Aboriginal health

The Inuit of Nunavik are exposed to metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are carried from southern to northern latitudes by oceanic and atmospheric transport and biomagnified in Arctic food webs. As the Inuit traditional diet comprises large amounts of tissues from marine mammals, fish and terrestrial wild game, the Inuit are more exposed to these contaminants than populations living in southern regions. Mercury and lead mainly affect the nervous system and can cause…

A respiratory health survey on a representative sample (1023) of Inuit children aged 0 to 14 was undertaken for the first time in Nunavik in 2004. The data on respiratory symptoms and asthma were obtained from a household respondent, usually a parent, by means of the standardized ISAAC questionnaire (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood). Other questions were also asked about various home and environmental variables.

Results indicate that the prevalence of…

Hearing loss

Hearing problems are widespread in Nunavik with one quarter of adults having hearing loss in both ears. Men have three times more hearing loss than women (36% vs. 12%) and these problems are found to increase with age; more than half the adults over age 45 suffer from a hearing loss in both ears. Prevalence of hearing disability (as defined by World Health Organization) was 7.6% in Nunavik in 2004, which is one of the highest of the regions of the world…

The Nunavik territory is a remote area characterized by a high proportion of young people and with different housing arrangements than the rest of Quebec. The Nunavik Inuit Health Survey 2004 revealed that forty percent of Inuit are under the age of 15. The average size of Nunavik households is 4.7 persons, which is almost double that of the rest of Quebec. Most Inuit are living in households with other family members because of a high birth rate and a shortage of residences, and very few…

Alcohol and drug use

The Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, conducted throughout the 14 communities of Nunavik in autumn 2004, provides an update of the alcohol and drug use descriptive profile of the population aged 15 and over and identifies the sociodemographic characteristics associated with substance use.

In Nunavik in 2004, the proportion of drinkers was 77%, which is lower than the rate observed in Canada and in Quebec. This rate, however, represents an…

In Nunavik, common practices such as the consumption of untreated water and raw game may promote exposure to pathogenic agents responsible for zoonoses, infections that may be transmitted from animals to humans, as well as for food-borne and water-borne infections. As part of the 2004 Nunavik Inuit Health Survey, information was gathered to depict the supply of drinking water and to determine the prevalence of certain infections among the Inuit population, including gastroenteritis.

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If the prevalence of diabetes is high in the general Québec population, studies done of Aboriginal communities show that the prevalence in this population are three to four times greater than those observed in the general population (Canada 1999). The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly over the last 20 years among the Cree population of Northern Québec (Eeyou Istchee) aged 20 years and over, from a few cases before the 1980s, to about 5.2% in the late eighties, to 7.1% in…

The Cree community of Oujé-Bougoumou is located approximately 60 kilometres west of Chibougamau and comprises 622 residents. There was, for this community, a potential exposure to toxic substances derived from tailings residues left behind from mining operations in the mid 1950s.

Confronted with this potential exposure, the Grand Council of the Crees commissioned an environmental contamination study, which was conducted by Christopher L. Covel from CL COVEL PG LLC and Roger D.…

This proposed health survey is in line with the updating of the responsibilities entrusted to the public health Director regarding the function of surveillance of the population’s health status and health determinants. In particular, under Section 43 of the Public Health Act (PHA), the latter is responsible for submitting the proposed survey to the CESP and for ensuring compliance with rules relating to the confidentiality and protection of personal information.

According to the new…