Pneumonia was one of the leading causes of death in 2024, new StatCan data shows

Dr. Marla Shapiro says many people may not realize that vaccines are available for both adults and infants to help prevent pneumonia.

A new report from Statistics Canada has cited pneumonia among the leading causes of death for Canadians, with the number of fatalities associated with the disease increased by a whopping 20 per cent from the previous year.

The respiratory illness moved to the sixth-leading cause of death in 2024, up from being eighth the previous year, according to the report released Tuesday.

According to the data, the age bracket hit the hardest were the elderly, with more than half of the deaths of those 85 years old and above caused by influenza and pneumonia.

However, the number of pneumonia-caused deaths in 2024 – more than 7,000 – was still significantly lower than the numbers seen in 2018 which the report said was more than 8,500, calling it the recorded “peak.”

• READ MORE: Canadian women live longer but spend more years in poor health: StatCan

The report also added that, after adjusting for population size and changes in age, the data found that the effects of the respiratory illness were more severe in 2017 and 2018 than in 2024.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths attributed to influenza and pneumonia had dropped “significantly” during the pandemic.

The report theorized that this discrepancy could be due to social distancing and other public health measures that were taken to control the spread of COVID-19, and due to “mortality displacement” – meaning the people who died while suffering from COVID-19 were the same ones who were the most susceptible to other respiratory distress.

“Typically, deaths attributed to pneumonia are five times higher than deaths attributed to influenza,” the report said.

On the other hand, deaths due to COVID-19 continued a downward trend, with 2024 seeing a near 37-per-cent decrease from the previous year, dropping to ninth after being the sixth-leading cause the previous year.

Elderly Canadians remained the most vulnerable to COVID-19 in 2024 accounting for more than half the deaths above the age of 85, according to the report.

Another important change in trends were with the deaths in Canada due to dementia, which were up by four per cent in 2024, compared to 2023.

“Though it is not a rankable cause of death, if dementia were included in the top 10 leading causes of death, it would place third, behind cancer and diseases of the heart and ahead of accidents,” the report said.

However, a different report published by Statistics Canada on Tuesday with data from 2023 found that Canadian females continued to outlive males, but their quality of life is lower than their male counterparts.

According to the 2023 report, only 81 per cent of a female’s life was spent in good conditions, compared to males, who were expected to spend 83 per cent of their lives in good health.

Meanwhile, life expectancy in general has continued to rise across Canada for the second consecutive year in 2024.

The report showed that life expectancy at birth increased to 82.16 years in 2024 from 81.68 years in 2023 for all sexes, bringing it almost at-par with the pre-pandemic years.

The increase was reported to be higher in males than females, the report said.

Saskatchewan saw the more significant increase, with a 0.68 years increase, followed by other western provinces like Alberta (0.82 years), and B.C. (0.62 years).

With files from CTV News’ Dorcas Marfo