The most frequent causes of early death in Tasmanian males are ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke. In females the most frequent causes are ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer. Contributing to these diseases is a range of diagnosable preventable conditions including diabetes, elevated cholesterol, hypertension, tobacco and alcohol dependency and obesity, some of which are in turn associated with the underlying risk factors of poor diet and physical inactivity. While diabetes and cardiovascular disease also have some biological or genetic underlying component, much of their burden in the population is regarded as preventable.
(Source: State of Public Health Report, 2003, Department of Health and Human Services)
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