SUMMARY
All deaths registered in 2008 have been coded using the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) as released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Causes of death statistics in Australia are recorded as both underlying cause i.e. the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death; and multiple cause i.e. all causes and conditions reported on the death certificate that contributed, were associated or was the underlying cause of the death (see Glossary for further details). Only underlying cause of death is presented in this publication. Information on multiple cause of death will be included in Causes of Death, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0).
Table 1 presents summary data for causes of death for each major chapter of the ICD-10 for doctor certified deaths.
1 Selected Underlying Causes of Death - 2007 and 2008(a)(b)(c) |
|
 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Total deaths(c) | Doctor certified deaths | Doctor certified deaths as proportion of total deaths | Doctor certified deaths as proportion of deaths by cause(c) | Doctor certified deaths | Doctor certified deaths as proportion of total deaths |
| Cause of death and ICD-10 code | no. | no. | % | % | no. | % |
|
| Infectious diseases (A00-B99) | 1 858 | 1 759 | 1.3 | 94.7 | 1 829 | 1.3 |
| Cancer (C00-D48) | 40 287 | 39 652 | 28.8 | 98.4 | 41 596 | 28.9 |
| Blood and immunity disorders (D50-D89) | 479 | 451 | 0.3 | 94.2 | 470 | 0.3 |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90) | 5 355 | 5 048 | 3.7 | 94.3 | 5 567 | 3.9 |
| Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99) | 5 715 | 5 479 | 4.0 | 95.9 | 6 073 | 4.2 |
| Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99) | 5 467 | 5 186 | 3.8 | 94.9 | 5 654 | 3.9 |
| Diseases of the eye and ear (H00-H95) | 8 | 5 | - | 62.5 | 10 | - |
| Diseases of the heart and blood vessels (I00-I99) | 46 626 | 40 573 | 29.4 | 87.0 | 41 694 | 29.0 |
| Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99) | 11 577 | 10 940 | 7.9 | 94.5 | 10 547 | 7.3 |
| Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93) | 4 760 | 4 171 | 3.0 | 87.6 | 4 239 | 2.9 |
| Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99) | 362 | 349 | 0.3 | 96.4 | 381 | 0.3 |
| Diseases of the muscles, bones and tendons (M00-M99) | 1 091 | 1 033 | 0.7 | 94.7 | 1 086 | 0.8 |
| Diseases of the kidney and urinary system (N00-N99) | 3 324 | 3 235 | 2.3 | 97.3 | 3 193 | 2.2 |
| Pregnancy and childbirth O00-O99) | 5 | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96) | 578 | 541 | 0.4 | 93.6 | 534 | 0.4 |
| Congenital and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) | 574 | 501 | 0.4 | 87.3 | 505 | 0.4 |
| Ill-defined causes (R00-R99) | 1 895 | 631 | 0.5 | 33.3 | 378 | 0.3 |
| External causes (V01-Y98) | 7 893 | 1 449 | 1.1 | 18.4 | 1 521 | 1.1 |
| Total doctor certified deaths | . . | 121 003 | 87.8 | . . | 125 278 | 87.0 |
| Total coroner certified deaths | . . | 16 851 | 12.2 | . . | 18 668 | 13.0 |
| Total deaths | 137 854 | 137 854 | 100 | 100 | 143 946 | 100 |
|
| . . not applicable |
| - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
| (a) Data for 2007 deaths have been updated after the processing of 2007 coroner certified deaths. See Explanatory Note 38 for further information. |
| (b) Data cells with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components. It is important to note that cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentialisation. |
| (c) 2008 total deaths by cause are unavailable because the number of 2008 coroner certified deaths by ICD-10 code are not final. As a result, 2008 doctor certified deaths as a proportion of total deaths by cause are also unavailable |
The following section presents information about those causes with a high proportion of doctor certified deaths. Care should be taken in interpreting these results as they exclude any deaths which have been referred to a coroner for investigation.
Table 2 presents number of doctor certified causes of death and percentage change for 2007 and 2008.
2 Doctor Certified Deaths by Cause of Death - 2007 and 2008(a) |
|
| 2007(b) | 2008 | Percentage change |
| Cause of death and ICD-10 code | no. | no. | % |
|
| Infectious diseases (A00-B99) | 1 759 | 1 829 | 4.0 |
| Cancer (C00-D48) | 39 652 | 41 596 | 4.9 |
| Blood and immunity disorders (D50-D89) | 451 | 470 | 4.2 |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90) | 5 048 | 5 567 | 10.3 |
| Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99) | 5 479 | 6 073 | 10.8 |
| Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99) | 5 186 | 5 654 | 9.0 |
| Diseases of the eye and ear (H00-H95) | 5 | 10 | 100.0 |
| Diseases of the heart and blood vessels (I00-I99) | 40 573 | 41 694 | 2.8 |
| Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99) | 10 940 | 10 547 | -3.6 |
| Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93) | 4 171 | 4 239 | 1.6 |
| Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99) | 349 | 381 | 9.2 |
| Diseases of the muscles, bones and tendons (M00-M99) | 1 033 | 1 086 | 5.1 |
| Diseases of the kidney and urinary system (N00-N99) | 3 235 | 3 193 | -1.3 |
| Pregnancy and childbirth O00-O99) | - | 1 | - |
| Conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96) | 541 | 534 | -1.3 |
| Congenital and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) | 501 | 505 | 0.8 |
| Ill-defined causes (R00-R99) | 631 | 378 | -40.1 |
| External causes (V01-Y98) | 1 449 | 1 521 | 5.0 |
| Total doctor certified deaths | 121 003 | 125 278 | 3.5 |
|
| - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
| (a) Data cells with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components. It is important to note that cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentisation. |
| (b) Data for 2007 deaths have been updated after the processing of 2007 coroner certified deaths. See Explanatory Note 38 for further information. |
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