Publications by authors named "Bourbeau R"

The U.S. elderly experience shorter lifespans and greater variability in age at death than their Canadian peers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

First, we use Lexis surfaces based on Serfling models to highlight influenza mortality patterns as well as to identify lingering effects of early-life exposure to specific influenza virus subtypes (e.g., H1N1, H3N2).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study examines the roles of age, period, and cohort in influenza mortality trends over the years 1959-2016 in the United States. First, we use Lexis surfaces based on Serfling models to highlight influenza mortality patterns as well as to identify lingering effects of early-life exposure to specific influenza virus subtypes (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recent outbreaks of H5, H7, and H9 influenza A viruses in humans have served as a vivid reminder of the potentially devastating effects that a novel pandemic could exert on the modern world. Those who have survived infections with influenza viruses in the past have been protected from subsequent antigenically similar pandemics through adaptive immunity. For example, during the 2009 H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic, those exposed to H1N1 viruses that circulated between 1918 and the 1940s were at a decreased risk for mortality as a result of their previous immunity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The worldwide spread of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in 2009 showed that influenza remains a significant health threat, even for individuals in the prime of life. This paper focuses on the unusually high young adult mortality observed during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Using historical records from Canada and the U.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of this paper is to explore mortality in Quebec during the nineteenth century from a demographic perspective. During the nineteenth century, there was excess urban mortality in various countries; in order to identify such mortality differentials, we compared mortality indicators for the province of Quebec and then for the urban areas of Montreal and Quebec City. Using data from various studies, we produced life tables and compared life expectancies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This article, part of a recently completed research project on safety belts, presents results on neck injuries. A total of 3927 injured front-seat occupants (drivers and passengers) involved in two-car crashes were studied. Among them, 725 sustained neck sprains (ICD-9 code 847.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

"During the 1981-1986 period, the balance between demographic phenomena was such that the proportion of francophones in the population tended to increase in Quebec. In this article, we project the 1981-1986 situation and other scenarios to see the impact of increasing immigration on the proportion of francophones in Quebec. The results suggest that there is an antinomy between an increase of the total population and an increase of the proportion of francophones.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Canadian Provinces and in several states of the United States the minimal legal age to drive a motor vehicle is 16 years old and in some, it is 15. The excess mortality and morbidity registered by 15 to 24-year-old drivers is well known. Several studies have reported that accident rates decrease with experience, but the effect of the age of new drivers has not been well documented.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Data furnished by the Régie de l'Assurance Automobile du Québec (RAAQ) were used to describe the geography of motor vehicle accidents in the province of Quebec for the period 1983-1988. These were also used to evaluate the risk factors associated with zones of high risk with regards to accidents for the 97 Municipalités Régionales de Comté (MRC). The results demonstrate that non-severe accidents are more frequent in the urban context.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Increases in adult mortality after age 45 are examined using a Monte Carlo-type simulation model based on data for Norwegian generations from 1866 to 1916. "In this model, the observed mortality of a generation depends upon two variables: 1) the risk of dying in the mortality strata for each individual at a certain time; 2) the level of deterioration of each person as given by the distribution of the individuals in the different mortality strata." Results suggest that the increase in the risk of dying after the age of 45 is due to two causes, namely, an increase in the percentage of weaker individuals (natural selection) and a change in life-style patterns, which include alcohol and tobacco consumption, nutrition, and physical exercise (cultural selection).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF