EXTERNAL CAUSES (V01-Y98)

External causes of death relate to cases where the underlying cause of death is determined to be one of a group of causes external to the body (for example suicide, transport accidents, falls, poisoning etc). See Explanatory Note 42 for further information.

Causes of Death data for 2007 is subject to revision. This is expected to change the number of deaths coded to External causes. See Explanatory Notes 3 - 4 for further information.

In 2007, External causes accounted for 7,893 deaths, or 5.7% of all registered deaths. This was a slight increase from 2006 when 7,840 deaths (5.9%) were attributed to External causes. The standardised death rate was 36.1 per 100,000 of population in 2007, a decrease from 36.7 in 2006 and from 44.6 per 100,000 population in 1998. Males were more likely to die from External causes than females in 2007. The standardised death rate for males was 50.9 per 100,000 compared with 22.1 per 100,000 for females.

In 2007, the median age at death from these causes was 50.8 years, which was slightly older than the median age of 50.3 years recorded in 2006. Despite this slight increase, the median age at death for External causes was considerably less than the median age of 80.5 years for all registered deaths in 2007. The median age at death for males dying of External causes was 45.5 years, with the median age at death for females 66.6 years.

Consistent with previous years, just over two-thirds of the total number of deaths resulting from External causes were males. The difference between the number of male and female deaths was most apparent amongst the 25-34 year age group, with 879 male deaths compared to 238 female deaths.

3.18 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES(a), External Causes (V01-Y98) - 2007(b)(c)
				MALES	FEMALES	PERSONS	PROPORTION OF ALL DEATHS
Cause of Death and ICD Code				no.	no.	no.	%
External causes (V01-Y98)				5 168	2 725	7 893	5.7
	Transport accidents (V01-V99, Y85)(d)			1 020	342	1 361	1.0
	Other external causes of accidental injury (W00-X59)			1 651	1 379	3 030	2.2
		Falls (W00-W19)		569	621	1 190	0.9
		Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (W20-W49)		69	13	82	0.1
			Struck by thrown, projected or falling object (W20)	16	4	20	-
			Caught, crushed, jammed or pinched in or between objects (W23)	18	2	21	-
		Accidental drowning and submersion (W65-W74)		131	52	183	0.1
			Drowning and submersion while in natural water (W69)	59	13	72	0.1
			Drowning and submersion following fall into natural water (W70)	17	4	21	-
			Unspecified drowning and submersion (W74)	38	16	54	-
		Other accidental threats to breathing (W75-W84)		115	105	220	0.2
			Inhalation and ingestion of food causing obstruction of respiratory tract (W79)	30	19	49	-
			Inhalation and ingestion of other objects causing obstruction of respiratory tract (W80)	59	68	127	0.1
		Exposure to smoke, fire and flames (X00-X09)		42	16	58	-
			Exposure to uncontrolled fire in building or structure (X00)	23	9	32	-
		Exposure to forces of nature (X30-X39)		28	24	52	-
			Exposure to excessive natural cold (X31)	22	15	37	-
		Accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances (X40-X49)		377	198	575	0.4
		Accidental exposure to other and unspecified factors (X58-X59)		286	342	628	0.5
			Exposure to unspecified factor (X59)	285	342	627	0.5
	Other external causes of mortality (X60-Y36)			2 307	830	3 137	2.3
		Intentional self-harm (X60-X84, Y87)(e)		1 455	427	1 884	1.4
		Assault (X85-Y09, Y87.1)(f)		107	62	163	0.1
		Event of undetermined intent (Y10-Y34, Y87.2)(g)		746	345	1 091	0.8
	Complications of medical and surgical care (Y40-Y84, Y88)			130	129	259	0.2
		Drugs, medicaments and biological substances causing adverse effects in therapeutic use (Y40-Y59)		28	31	59	-
			Surgical operation and other surgical procedures as the cause of abnormal reaction of the patient, or of later complication, without mention of misadventure at the time of the procedure (Y83)	77	85	162	0.1
			Other medical procedures as the cause of abnormal reaction of the patient, or of later complication, without mention of misadventure at  the time of the procedure (Y84)	18	7	25	-
		Sequelae of external causes of morbidity and mortality (Y85-Y89)		85	55	140	0.1
			Sequelae of other accidents (Y86)	50	40	90	0.1
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Causes selected are those with 20 or more deaths at the 3 digit level of ICD-10.
(b) Causes of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information.
(c) 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.
(d) Includes sequelae of transport accidents (Y85). Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to transport accidents for 2007. See Explanatory Notes 73-74 for further information.
(e) Includes sequelae of suicide (Y87.0). Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to suicide due to limitations of the data. See Explanatory Notes 77-78 and Technical Note: ABS coding of suicide deaths for further information.
(f) Includes sequelae of assault (Y87.1). Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to assault. See Explanatory Notes 75-76 for further details.
(g) Includes sequelae of events of undeterminated intent (Y87.2). For further information relating to this data, see Explanatory Notes 79-81.

Transport Accidents (V01-V99, Y85)

Transport accidents (V01-V99, Y85) accounted for 1,361 deaths registered in 2007. This represented 1.0% of all registered deaths in 2007, and 17% of all External causes of death. Of these, 710 deaths were of occupants of a car, 182 deaths were of pedestrians and 184 deaths were of motorcycle riders.

As with most other External causes, more males than females died from Transport accidents in 2007 (1,020 compared with 341). For males, 1.4% of total male deaths registered in 2007 were caused by Transport accidents. This was compared with only 0.5% of all female deaths. Males also had a lower median age at death than females, with a median age of 36.3 years for males compared with 40.5 years for females. Of all male deaths from External causes, 20% were attributed to Transport accidents, predominantly amongst males aged 15-44 years. Males in this age group accounted for 60% of all male deaths due to transport accidents.

For information on quality of data on Transport accidents, refer to Explanatory Notes 73-74

3.19 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES(a), Transport Accidents (V01-V99, Y85)(b) - 2007(c)(d)
			MALES	FEMALES	PERSONS	PROPORTION OF ALL DEATHS
Cause of Death and ICD Code			no.	no.	no.	%
Transport Accidents (V01-V99, Y85)			1 020	342	1 361	1.0
	Pedestrian injured in transport accident (V01-V09)		122	60	182	0.1
		Pedestrian injured in collision with car, pick-up truck or van (V03)	74	51	125	0.1
		Pedestrian injured in collision with heavy transport vehicle or bus (V04)	19	5	24	-
		Pedestrian injured in collision with railway train or railway vehicle (V05)	21	3	25	-
	Motorcycle rider injured in transport accident (V20-V29)		175	9	184	0.1
		Motorcycle rider injured in collision with car, pick-up truck or van (V23)	57	5	62	-
		Motorcycle rider injured in collision with fixed or stationary object (V27)	80	4	82	0.1
	Car occupant injured in transport accident (V40-V49)		491	219	710	0.5
		Car occupant injured in collision with car, pick-up truck or van (V43)	133	84	217	0.2
		Car occupant injured in collision with heavy transport vehicle or bus (V44)	37	16	53	-
		Car occupant injured in collision with fixed or stationary object (V47)	213	85	298	0.2
		Car occupant injured in noncollision transport accident (V48)	97	28	125	0.1
	Occupant of pick-up truck or van injured in transport accident (V50-V59)		42	11	53	-
		Occupant of pick-up truck or van injured in collision with fixed or stationary object (V57)	19	6	25	-
	Other land transport accidents (V80-V89)		51	20	71	0.1
		Motor- or nonmotor-vehicle accident, type of vehicle unspecified (V89)	16	7	23	-
	Air and space transport accidents (V95-V97)		31	5	36	-
		Accident to powered aircraft causing injury to occupant (V95)	28	1	32	-
	Sequelae of transport accidents (Y85)		18	4	21	-
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Causes selected are those with 20 or more deaths at the 3 digit level of ICD-10.
(b) Includes sequelae of transport accidents (Y85). Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to transport accidents for 2007. See Explanatory Notes 73-74 for further information.
(c) Causes of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information.
(d) 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.

Falls (W00-W19)

Falls (W00-W19) accounted for 1,190 deaths registered in 2007. This represented 0.9% of all registered deaths in 2007, and 15% of all External causes of death. Falls have increased 68% over the past 5 years from 709 in 2003. See Explanatory Note 72 for further information on data relating to falls.

Falls was one of the few categories within External causes with more females than males (621 females, compared with 569 males). This has been the case for the past four years. The median age at death for Falls was 85.0 years, which was considerably higher than the median age at death of 50.8 for all External causes. Of all deaths due to Falls, 83% were of people aged 70 years or more.

3.20 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES(a), Falls (W00-W19) - 2007(b)(c)
		MALES	FEMALES	PERSONS	PROPORTION OF ALL DEATHS
Cause of Death and ICD Code		no.	no.	no.	%
Falls (W00-W19)		569	621	1 190	0.9
	Fall on same level from slipping, tripping and stumbling (W01)	125	130	255	0.2
	Fall involving bed (W06)	18	26	44	-
	Fall on and from stairs and steps (W10)	33	24	57	-
	Fall on and from ladder (W11)	23	-	23	-
	Fall from, out of or through building or structure (W13)	26	6	32	-
	Other fall from one level to another ( W17)	18	8	26	-
	Other fall on same level ( W18)	11	24	35	-
	Unspecified fall (W19)	293	376	669	0.5
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Causes selected are those with 20 or more deaths at the 3 digit level of ICD-10.
(b) Causes of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information.
(c) 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.

Accidental Poisoning (X40-X49)

Accidental poisoning (X40-X49) accounted for 575 deaths registered in 2007. This represented 0.4% of all registered death 2007, and 7.3% of all External causes of death. Accidental poisoning have decreased 18% compared with 2006. The number of deaths due to accidental poisoning may be affected by the number of open coronial cases on NCIS, as well as changes in coding practices. See Technical Note: Coroner Certified Deaths for further information.

Almost twice as many males as females died from accidental poisoning in 2007, continuing the trend of the past 10 years since 1998. The median age at death for Accidental poisoning was 40.4 years. Median age at death for males was 36.7 years, compared with 49.4 years for females.

3.21 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES(a), Accidental Poisoning (X40-X49) - 2007(b)(c)
	MALES	FEMALES	PERSONS	PROPORTION OF ALL DEATHS
Cause of Death and ICD Code	no.	no.	no.	%
Accidental poisoning (X40-X49)	377	198	575	0.4
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic,                antiparkinsonism and psychotropic drugs, not elsewhere classified (X41)	33	28	61	-
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psychodysleptics                (hallucinogens), not elsewhere classified (X42)	119	27	146	0.1
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified drugs,                medicaments and biological substances (X44)	151	110	261	0.2
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45)	50	16	66	-
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Causes selected are those with 20 or more deaths at the 3 digit level of ICD-10.
(b) Causes of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information.
(c) 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.

Assault (X85-Y09,Y87.1)

Assault (X85-Y09, Y87.1) accounted for 165 deaths in 2007. The deaths from Assault represented 0.1% of all registered deaths and 2.1% of all External causes of death in 2007. Almost twice as many males as females died from Assault in 2007, continuing the trend of the 10 years since 1998. The median age at death for Assault was 37.7 years. Median age at death for males was 37.8 years, compared with 37.5 years for females.

Cause of Death statistics for deaths due to assault may differ from other sources of data due to differences in scope and coverage, but also due to the impact of open coroners cases on ABS data. See Explanatory Notes 75 - 76 for further information.

3.22 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES(a), Assault (X85-Y09, Y87.1) - 2007(b)(c)
		MALES	FEMALES	PERSONS	PROPORTION OF ALL DEATHS
Cause of Death and ICD Code		no.	no.	no.	%
Assault (X85-Y09, Y87.1)(d)		107	62	163	0.2
	Assault by hanging, strangulation and suffocation (X91 )	1	7	10	-
	Assault by other and unspecified firearm discharge (X95)	10	6	16	-
	Assault by sharp object (X99)	49	25	74	0.1
	Assault by bodily force (Y04)	15	7	22	-
	Assault by unspecified means (Y09)	8	6	14	-
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Causes selected are those with 20 or more deaths at the 3 digit level of ICD-10.
(b) Causes of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information.
(c) 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.
(d) Includes sequelae of assault (Y87.1). Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to assault. See Explanatory Notes 75-76 for further details.

Suicide (X60-X84,Y87.0)

Care should be taken in using and interpreting suicide data contained in this publication due to concerns regarding data quality. For further information refer to Explanatory Notes 77-78.

There were 1,881 deaths coded to Intentional self-harm [suicide] (X60-X84, Y87.0) in 2007, a small increase on the 1,799 deaths in 2006. Deaths from Intentional self-harm represented 1.4% of all registered deaths and 24% of all External causes of death in 2007. More than three times as many males as females died from Intentional self-harm in 2007, continuing the trend of the 10 years since 1998. The median age at death for Intentional self-harm was 42.5 years. Median age at death for males was 41.7 years, compared with 44.5 years for females.

For further information on deaths due to suicide, see the Suicides section (Chapter 6) of this publication and Technical Notes - Coroner Certified Deaths and ABS Coding of Suicide Deaths.

3.23 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES(a), Suicide (X60-X84, X87.0)(b) - 2007(c)(d)
		MALES	FEMALES	PERSONS	PROPORTION OF ALL DEATHS
Cause of Death and ICD Code		no.	no.	no.	%
Suicide (X60-X84, Y87.0)		1 455	427	1 884	1.4
	Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic,                antiparkinsonism and psychotropic drugs, not elsewhere classified (X61)	23	32	55	-
	Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psychodysleptics                (hallucinogens), not elsewhere classified (X62)	17	11	28	-
	Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified drugs,                medicaments and biological substances (X64)	46	81	127	0.1
	Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other gases and vapours (X67)	164	32	196	0.1
	Intentional self-harm by hanging, strangulation and suffocation (X70)	826	184	1 010	0.7
	Intentional self-harm by drowning and submersion (X71)	19	18	37	-
	Intentional self-harm by rifle, shotgun and larger firearm discharge ( X73)	113	3	116	0.1
	Intentional self-harm by other and unspecified firearm discharge (X74)	34	4	38	-
	Intentional self-harm by sharp object (X78)	32	8	40	-
	Intentional self-harm by jumping from a high place (X80)	57	18	75	0.1
	Intentional self-harm by jumping or lying before moving object (X81)	27	13	40	-
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Causes selected are those with 20 or more deaths at the 3 digit level of ICD-10.
(b) Includes sequelae of suicide (Y87.0). Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to suicide due to limitations of the data. See Explanatory Notes 77-78 and Technical Note: ABS coding of suicide deaths for further information.
(c) Causes of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information.
(d) 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.

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