Map of the Week: Death

SIMON HAYTER/TORONTO STAR

Map: Average age at death, 2006

After our four-week series on birth, we turn to death.

This week's map looks at the differences in average age at death in 192 areas across the GTA.

Within the City of Toronto, we see a rough relationship between income and lifespan. High average ages at death cluster along the high-income Yonge St. corridor with pockets in Hillcrest Village and the Kingsway, while low average ages cluster in traditionally poor neighbourhoods in parts of the west end and east downtown. In Halton and Peel, we see generally longer average lifespans along the lake shore.

Here are the top 10 neighbourhoods for average lifespan:

M6A	Lawrence Manor/Lawrence Heights	83.4
L6B	Eastern Markham	82.75
M5N	SE of Lawrence/Bathurst	81.97
M4N	Lawrence Park	81.16
L5K	Mississauga, Dundas and Winston Churchill	80.77
M8X	The Kingsway	80.76
M5P	Annex	80.62
M2L	E York Mills	80.33
M5R	Annex	80.27
M4T	Moore Park	80.15

and the 10 lowest:

L4P	Georgina Township/Keswick	67.97
L3X	SW Newmarket	67.52
L4E	Temperanceville (Vaughan/King)	67.01
M1B	Malvern	66.44
L5N	Mississauga: Winston Churchill/Derry Rd area	66.43
L1K	Northeastern Oshawa	66.34
L6R	W Brampton: Wanless/Mississauga Rd area	65.94
L4T	Malton	65.33
L7A	W Brampton: Wanless/Mississauga Rd area	63.6
M5A	Regent Park/St Lawrence/Corktown	63.32

Postal codes with fewer than 50 deaths excluded

The second table includes a number of deep suburban and rural neighbourhoods and only one really urban one, which leads me to wonder if there's a link to sedentary lifestyles. It reminds me of the Toronto diabetes study from a number of years ago which found higher rates in low-density neighbourhoods in Toronto. (article link)