PERSONS AGED 15-74 YEARS

While deaths of persons of all ages provide an overall picture of mortality, most deaths occur at older ages. In 2011-12, deaths of persons aged 75 years and over accounted for around two-thirds (64.9%) of all deaths in Australia, and therefore the overall picture may mask patterns of mortality amongst younger age groups. Consideration of deaths of persons aged 15-74 years is important as many deaths amongst this age group are potentially avoidable (that is, potentially preventable through individualised care and/or treatable through existing primary or hospital care) [1].

There were 26,375 deaths of persons aged 15-74 years who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011, accounting for one-third (34.8%) of all deaths of people who accessed mental health-related treatments (75,858 deaths). The standardised death rate for persons aged 15-74 years who accessed mental health-related treatments was 7.4 deaths per 1,000 population, almost two and a half times (2.4) that of the Australian population of the same age (3.0 deaths per 1,000 population).

For males aged 15-74 years who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011 the standardised death rate was 11.2 deaths per 1,000 population, almost three times (2.9) that of deaths of all males of the same age in Australia (3.8 deaths per 1,000 population). For females aged 15-74 years who accessed mental health-related treatments the death rate was 2.2 times higher than that of all females of the same age in Australia (5.1 deaths per 1,000 population compared with 2.3 deaths per 1,000 population respectively). Additionally, the standardised death rate for males aged 15-74 years who accessed mental health-related treatments was more than twice (2.2 times) that of females of the same age who accessed mental health-related treatments.



Across all Remoteness Areas, persons aged 15-74 years who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011 had higher standardised death rates than the total population of the same age. For persons aged 15-74 years in Remote/Very Remote areas of Australia who accessed mental health-related treatments the standardised death rate was 9.2 deaths per 1,000 population, 2.7 times higher than that of the total population in Remote/Very Remote areas of the same age (3.3 deaths per 1,000 population).



The pattern of higher standardised death rates amongst persons aged 15-74 years who accessed mental health-related treatments compared with the total Australian population of the same age was repeated across levels of socio-economic disadvantage.

	Persons who accessed mental health-related treatments in 2011(a)			Total Australian population
	Deaths(b) no.	Death rate(c) rate		Deaths(b) no.	Death rate(c) rate	Rate ratio(d) ratio
Sex
nnnMales	14 790	11.2		32 897	3.8	2.9
nnnFemales	11 584	5.1		20 391	2.3	2.2
Remoteness Areas
nnnMajor Cities	16 378	6.9		33 465	2.9	2.4
nnnInner Regional	6 472	8.0		12 445	3.4	2.4
nnnOuter Regional	3 098	9.1		6 145	3.5	2.6
nnnRemote/Very Remote	426	9.2		1 186	3.3	2.7
Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage
nnnQuintile 1 – most disadvantaged areas	8 518	9.3		16 072	4.6	2.0
nnnQuintile 2	6 183	7.8		12 000	3.4	2.3
nnnQuintile 3	4 687	6.8		9 767	2.8	2.4
nnnQuintile 4	3 813	6.2		8 172	2.4	2.6
nnnQuintile 5 – least disadvantaged areas	3 085	5.8		7 008	2.0	2.8
Total deaths	26 375	7.4		53 289	3.0	2.4
(a) Persons who accessed MBS and/or PBS subsidised mental health-related services or medications in 2011. (b) Deaths registered between 10 August 2011 and 27 September 2012 inclusive. (c) Deaths per 1,000 population, age standardised to the 2001 Australian population. (d) Ratio calculated as death rate for persons who accessed mental health-related treatments divided by death rate for total Australian population.

ENDNOTES

1 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017, Metadata Online Registry, National Healthcare Agreement: PI 16–Potentially avoidable deaths, 2017, viewed 24 August 2017, <http://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/630024>