LEADING CAUSES OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER DEATHS
The following analysis is based on 2,730 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 2014 reference year. Data for Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory have been excluded in line with national reporting guidelines (for information on issues with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification, see Explanatory Notes 57-66).
Table 4.1 highlights the leading causes based on the World Health Organization recommendation for leading causes (see Explanatory Notes 34-35 in this publication for further information). The top 10 leading causes of death account for over half (53.7%) 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.
4.1 WHO leading causes(a), NSW, Qld, SA, WA and NT(b) - by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status - 2014(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) | 355 | 131.4 | 14 107 | 75.9 | 1.7 | 55.5 |
| Diabetes (E10-E14) | 215 | 89.9 | 2 828 | 15.2 | 5.9 | 74.7 |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47) | 177 | 85.2 | 5 250 | 28.1 | 3.0 | 57.1 |
| Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung (C33, C34) | 153 | 56.0 | 5 749 | 30.4 | 1.8 | 25.5 |
| Intentional self-harm (X60-X84)(g) | 143 | 23.0 | 1 924 | 11.7 | 2.0 | 11.2 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases (I60-I69) | 109 | 55.2 | 7 626 | 41.2 | 1.3 | 14.0 |
| Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver (K70-K76) | 94 | 22.8 | 1 114 | 6.1 | 3.7 | 16.7 |
| Land transport accidents (V01-V89)(f) | 87 | 15.8 | 833 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 10.8 |
| Dementia, including Alzheimer disease (F01, F03, G30) | 67 | 50.7 | 8 402 | 45.3 | 1.1 | 5.4 |
| Symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions (R00-R99) | 67 | 16.0 | 1 215 | 6.8 | 2.4 | 9.2 |
|
| (a) Causes listed are the leading causes of death for all deaths registered in 2014, 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 57-66 for further information on interpreting data relating to deaths of Indigenous persons. |
(c) Causes of death data for 2014 are preliminary and subject to a revisions process. See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and the Causes of Death Revisions, 2012 and 2013 Technical Note, in this publication.
(d) Standardised death rate. Deaths per 100,000 of estimated mid-year population. See the Glossary for further information.
(e) The rate ratio is the rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons divided by the non-Indigenous rate.
(f) The 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 85-92.
(f) Excludes Sequelae of transport accidents (Y85) as per the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to transport accidents. For further information, see Explanatory Note 82. |
|
Figure 4.1 presents further comparisons of age-standardised rates for specific causes for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations.
[3303.0~2014~Statistical Standard~08/03/2016~Selected causes of death, Standardised Death Rate(c), by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status 2014 (a)(b)]
Potentially avoidable mortality
A potentially avoidable death is one that could theoretically have been avoided given an understanding of causation, the adoption of available disease prevention initiatives and the use of available health care, for persons aged under 75 years. The causes of death used in the tabulation of potentially avoidable deaths are listed on the Metadata Online Registry (METeOR) under the
National Healthcare Agreement, Performance: PI 16 - Potentially avoidable deaths, 2015. The age-standardised avoidable death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians was 345.3 per 100,000 persons, nearly three and a half times higher than for non-Indigenous Australians (102.6 per 100,000).
4.2 Avoidable deaths(a), NSW, Qld, SA, WA and NT(b) - by Indigenous status and sex: 2014 (c) |
|
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander | | Non-Indigenous | | | |
| no. | SDR(d) | no. | SDR(d) | Rate ratio(e) | Rate difference(f) |
|
| Males | 792 | 405.2 | 11 180 | 132.3 | 3.1 | 272.9 |
| Females | 569 | 289.2 | 6 270 | 73.3 | 3.9 | 215.9 |
| Persons | 1 361 | 345.3 | 17 450 | 102.6 | 3.4 | 242.7 |
|
| (a) See the National Healthcare Agreement, Performance: PI 16 - Potentially avoidable deaths, 2015 for the list of causes which comprise potentially avoidable deaths. |
| (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 Indigenous identification and sufficient numbers of Indigenous deaths to support mortality analysis. See Explanatory Notes 57-66 for further information on interpreting data relating to deaths of Indigenous persons. |
(c) Causes of death data for 2014 are preliminary and subject to a revisions process. See Explanatory Notes 52-54 and the Causes of Death Revisions, 2012 and 2013 Technical Note in this publication.
(d) Age-standardised death rate. Deaths per 100,000 of estimated mid-year population. See the Glossary of this publication for further information.
(e) The rate ratio is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rate divided by the non-Indigenous rate.
(f) The rate difference is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rate less the non-Indigenous rate. |
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