MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS (F00-F99)
Deaths due to mental health disorders relate to behaviours and conditions which interfere with social functioning and capacity to negotiate daily life. Mental health disorders (F00-F99) were identified as the underlying cause of 6,522 registered deaths, representing 4.6% of all registered deaths in Australia during 2009. In total, 21,384 deaths were due to, or associated with, mental health disorders.
The prevalence of mental health disorders as an underlying cause has increased significantly over the last ten years. In 2009, the standardised death rate for mental health disorders was 25.2 per 100,000 of population, an increase from 16.5 per 100,000 population in 2000. The standardised death rate was 27.4 deaths per 100,000 for both males and females.
In 2009, more than half the deaths due to mental health disorders were females (4,130 or 63.3%). The median age at death was higher for females at 88.9 years, compared with 84.6 years for males. Consistent with this difference, the potential life lost as a result of deaths due to mental health disorders was 7,904 years for males and 3,897 years for females.
Dementia (F01-F03) accounted for 89.5% of deaths due to mental health disorders in 2009. There were 5,836 deaths registered in 2009 for which dementia was the underlying cause. Of these, 1,975 were males, and 3,861 females, giving a sex ratio of 51 males per 100 female deaths. The median age at death due to dementia was 85.7 years for males, 89.2 years for females, and 88.1 years overall.
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