The differences are largely attributable to lower life expectancy among aboriginal people, who account for more than half of the territory's population, the authors suggest. The NWT Health Status Report 1999 indicates that life expectancy for aboriginal males is just 70 years, while aboriginal women, on average, live 75 years.
Several factors account for the poor rankings.
Northern residents have, among other things, a higher incidence of alcohol use, smoking and certain infectious diseases such as TB and chlamydia. The report, which was written by territorial health officials, also concludes that the outdoor-oriented lifestyles of many Northerners may be a mixed blessing. Many injury-related deaths could be avoided through safer practices, like careful boating, sober driving and fire prevention. The report made few comparisons to previous decades because the old data included Nunavut, which left the NWT in 1998 to become a separate territory.