3303.0 - Causes of Death, Australia, 2013 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 31/03/2015   
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LEADING CAUSES OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DEATHS

The following analysis is based on 2,641 deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons, which is an aggregate of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory data only, for the 2013 reference year. Only these five jurisdictions have a sufficient level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification and sufficient numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths to support mortality analysis. Caution should still be taken when interpreting data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians presented in this publication, especially with regard to year to year changes. See Explanatory Notes 58-67 for further information.

Over three-quarters (76.4%) of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons were accounted for by the following five underlying causes of death: Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99; 636 deaths or 24.1%); Neoplasms (C00-D48; 541 deaths or 20.5%); External causes of mortality (V01-Y98; 385 deaths or 14.6%); Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90; 240 deaths or 9.1%) and Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99; 216 deaths or 8.2%).

Table 6.1 highlights the leading causes based on the World Health Organization recommendation for leading causes (See Explanatory Notes 34-35 for further information). The top 10 leading causes of death account for over half (52.7%) of all deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons.

All rate ratios presented in this table and all following sections are based on age standardised death rates (the number of deaths per 100,000 persons) comparing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations.

6.1 WHO leading causes(a), NSW, Qld, SA, WA and NT(b) - by Indigenous status - 2013(c)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
SDR(d)
Non-Indigenous
SDR(d)
Rate ratio(e)
Rate difference(f)
Cause of Death and ICD-10 code
no.
rate
no.
rate
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)
321
127.1
13 933
77.1
1.6
49.9
Diabetes (E10-E14)
202
90.4
2 726
15.1
6.0
75.3
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)
148
65.0
4 814
26.6
2.4
38.4
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34)
140
55.7
5 740
31.3
1.8
24.5
Intentional self-harm (X60-X84)(g)
138
23.8
1 750
10.8
2.2
13.0
Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver (K70-K76)
124
31.1
1 185
6.6
4.7
24.5
Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69)
122
67.3
7 529
41.9
1.6
25.4
Land transport accidents (V01-V89)
72
13.4
913
5.6
2.4
7.8
Diseases of the urinary system (N00-N39)
66
34.9
1 999
11.1
3.1
23.7
Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)
60
5.5
363
2.4
2.3
3.1
(a) Causes listed are the leading causes of death for all deaths registered in 2013, based on WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Explanatory Notes 34-35 for further information.
(b) Data are reported by jurisdiction of usual residence for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and the NT only. Only these five states and territories have evidence of a sufficient level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification and sufficient numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths to support mortality analysis. See Explanatory Notes 58-67 for further information on interpreting data relating to deaths of Indigenous persons.
(c) Causes of death data for 2013 are preliminary and subject to a revisions process. See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and Technical Note,Causes of Death Revisions, 2011 and 2012.
(d) Standardised death rate. Deaths per 100,000 of estimated mid-year population. See Glossary for further information.
(e) Rate ratio is the rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons divided by the non-Indigenous rate.
(f) Rate difference is the rate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons less the non-Indigenous rate.
(g) Excludes Sequelae of suicide (Y87.0) as per the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to suicide. See Explanatory Notes 87-93.

Figure 6.2 presents further comparisons of age-standardised rates for specific causes for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations.

Graph Image for Selected causes of death, Standardised Death Rate(c), by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status 2013 (a)(b)

Footnote(s): (a) Includes deaths of persons identified as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. (b) Data are reported by jurisdiction of usual residence for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and the NT only. Only these five states and territories have evidence of a sufficient level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification and sufficient numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths to support mortality analysis. See Explanatory Notes 58-67 for further information on interpreting data relating to deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. (c) Standardised deaths rate per 100,000 population. (d) See Explanatory Notes 70-95 for further information on specific issues to be considered when interpreting time series and 2013 data. (e) Causes of death data for 2013 are preliminary and subject to a revisions process. See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and Technical Notes, Causes of Death Revisions 2006, in Causes of Death, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3303.0) and Causes of Death Revisions, 2011 and 2012 in this publication.

Source(s): Selected causes of death, Standardised Death Rate(c), by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status 2013 (a)(b)-Figure 6_2 SDRs by ATSI