The Contribution of Neighbourhood Material and Social Deprivation to Survival: A 22-Year Follow-up of More than 500,000 Canadians

Background: We examined the incremental influence on survival of neighbourhood material and social deprivation while accounting for individual level socioeconomic status in a large population-based cohort of Canadians. Methods: More than 500,000 adults were followed for 22 years between 1982 and 2004. Tax records provided information on sex, income, marital status and postal code while a linkage was used to determine vital status. Cox models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for quintiles of neighbourhood material and social deprivation. Results: There were 180,000 deaths over the follow-up period. In unadjusted analyses, those living in the most materially deprived neighbourhoods had elevated risks of mortality (HR(males) 1.37, 95% CI: 1.33–1.41; HR(females) 1.20, 95% CI: 1.16–1.24) when compared with those living in the least deprived neighbourhoods. Mortality risk was also elevated for those living in socially deprived neighbourhoods (HR(males) 1.15, CI: 1.12–1.18; HR(females) 1.15, CI: 1.12–1.19). Mortality risk associated with material deprivation remained elevated in models that adjusted for individual factors (HR(males) 1.20, CI: 1.17–1.24; HR(females) 1.16, CI: 1.13–1.20) and this was also the case for social deprivation (HR(males) 1.12, CI: 1.09–1.15; HR(females) 1.09, CI: 1.05–1.12). Immigrant neighbourhoods were protective of mortality risk for both sexes. Being poor and living in the most socially advantageous neighbourhoods translated into a survival gap of 10% over those in the most socially deprived neighbourhoods. The gap for material neighbourhood deprivation was 7%. Conclusions: Living in socially and materially deprived Canadian neighbourhoods was associated with elevated mortality risk while we noted a “healthy immigrant neighbourhood effect”. For those with low family incomes, living in socially and materially deprived areas negatively affected survival beyond their individual circumstances.