SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Causes of Death, Australia, 3303.0 focuses on the causes of the 159,052 deaths registered in 2015. This issue provides several articles on particular causes or topics (detailed below), as well as comprehensive data cubes covering all causes by key demographics.
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH
This article provides analysis on Australia's leading causes of death, including changes over time and differences for males and females. Information is also provided on the leading causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
DEMENTIA: AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH?
Dementia is the only one of Australia's top three leading causes of death which has an increasing mortality rate. Heart disease has been the leading cause of death in Australia since the early part of the 20th century, but for how much longer? This article looks at factors which may contribute to dementia becoming Australia's new leading cause of death within just a few years.
UNDERSTANDING DIABETES MORTALITY IN AUSTRALIA
Diabetes is Australia's sixth leading cause of death, accounting for 2.9% of all deaths in 2015. However, diabetes was mentioned as a contributory factor in over 10% of deaths. This article provides information on deaths with diabetes as an underlying cause as well as deaths which might be considered diabetes-related. It also provides information on diabetes deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples.
CANCER WITHIN AUSTRALIA'S LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH
Cancer accounted for just under 30% of all deaths in 2015. This article shows which cancers contribute to mortality among males and females, and across various age cohorts.
COMPLEXITIES IN THE MEASUREMENT OF BOWEL CANCER IN AUSTRALIA
The term 'bowel' can be problematic in cause of death terms. This article explains how use of the term bowel as opposed to colon has implications for Australian mortality data.
SUICIDE DEATHS IN AUSTRALIA
Two articles are provided covering key characteristics of deaths due to intentional self-harm (including age and sex) and suicide deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
A MORE TIMELY ANNUAL COLLECTION: CHANGES TO ABS PROCESSES
Causes of Death, Australia, 2015 has been released approximately six months earlier than previous reports, providing more timely access to Australian mortality data. Key factors which have influenced the decision to publish data earlier include ongoing improvements to coding practices and more timely availability of key reports on the National Coronial Information System. This technical note provides additional information on the reasons for change and implications for data comparability with previous releases.
YEAR OF OCCURRENCE (release date 4 April 2017)
Cause of death analysis based on year of occurrence, rather than year of registration, has a number of benefits. These include a more accurate view of seasonal patterns and the removal of artefacts associated with administrative data lags. These benefits are explored further in this article.
TECHNICAL NOTE: CAUSES OF DEATH REVISIONS, 2013 FINAL DATA (release date 4 April 2017)
The ABS undertakes a revisions process for coroner-certified deaths over a three year period. This enables the ABS to improve the specificity of causes for these deaths as additional information, including the findings of the coroner, becomes available. This technical note provides a summary of how the revisions process has changed data for the 2013 reference period.
TECHNICAL NOTE: UPDATES TO 2013 AND 2014 SUICIDE DATA (release date 4 April 2017)
This technical note presents final 2013 and revised 2014 suicide data, and explores how the revisions process has resulted in changes to suicide counts. |
AUSTRALIA'S TOP FOUR LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH, 2015 (release date 26 July 2017)
These four articles provide further detail on the top four leading causes of death in Australia in 2015: Ischaemic Heart Disease, Dementia, Stroke and Lung Cancer. Collectively, the top four leading causes account for approximately one third of all causes of death annually in Australia.
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