Cancer and heart disease are once again the leading causes of death for Canadians, according to a report released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.
The federal government agency said cancer accounted for 30 per cent of deaths and heart disease 22 per cent. Stroke was third overall at six per cent.
Statistics Canada said the rate of cancer deaths was up slightly from 2000. Heart disease and stroke declined slightly.
Ranked in order, the seven other leading causes of death in the Top 10 were: chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, influenza and pneumonia, kidney disease and suicide.
The 10 leading causes of death accounted for 77 per cent of all deaths in 2007, down from 80 per cent in 2000, according to the report. Statistics Canada said the list has been the same since 2000, but the ranking has changed slightly. In 2000, suicide and kidney disease were ninth and tenth respectively, but by 2007 they had switched places.
Causes of death in 2007 varied widely by age group. Accidents and suicide ranked first and second among young adults aged 15 to 34. And among Canadians aged 35 to 74, cancer was the leading cause of death. For those aged 85 and older, heart disease was the top cause of death.
Deaths due to cancer reached the highest levels for those in the 55 to 64 age category where it accounted for 48 per cent of all deaths.
Statistics Canada said men and women share the top two leading causes of death, cancer and heart disease. Strokes ranked third for women in 2007, while accidents were the third leading cause of death for males.
There were three times more suicides among men than women. And in 2007, women accounted for seven out of every 10 deaths from Alzheimer's disease.
Rankings differed slightly from the United States in the same period. In 2007, cancer outranked heart disease in Canada. In the U.S., the rankings were reversed.
Twenty-three per cent of all deaths in the U.S. were attributed to cancer in 2007, compared with 30 per cent in Canada. Twenty-five per cent of all deaths in the U.S. in 2007 were attributed to heart disease, compared with 22 per cent in Canada.
Stroke ranked third in both countries.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, breast cancer is the leading cancer among Canadian women.
The society has estimated one in nine women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime and one in 28 will die from it.
The society estimated that 173,800 new cases of cancer will occur over 2010, with 76,200 deaths.
Based on 2009 rates, the society estimated 40 per cent of Canadian women and 45 per cent of Canadian men will develop cancer during their lifetimes.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada said the rate of heart disease and stroke has steadily declined over the past 40 years. However, it also noted that every seven minutes in Canada, someone dies from heart disease or stroke.
The foundation has estimated the cost of heart disease and strokes to the Canadian economy at $22.2 billion a year.