DATA CUBES
Further information on multiple causes of death is presented in the data cubes associated with this publication. These include the number of associated causes for all 3-character underlying causes, as well as the number of mentions of each cause at the 3-character level of ICD-10.
Number of Multiple Causes
For the 140,760 deaths registered in Australia in 2009, there were 447,212 causes mentioned, giving a mean of 3.2 causes per death. In 17.8% of all deaths, only one cause was reported, while 37.5% of deaths were reported with three or more causes. The mean number of causes reported per death varies with age, sex and underlying cause of death.
Selected Multiple Causes
In 2009, Malignant cancers (C00-C97) contributed to 33.1% (46,604) of all deaths as either an underlying or multiple cause. There were mentions of 58,182 malignant cancers reported in 2009.
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25), which includes angina, heart attacks, and blocked arteries of the heart, were found to contribute to 26.8% of all deaths as either an underlying or multiple cause.
The following table lists counts of selected causes of death (as opposed to mentions), both underlying and associated causes, appearing on death certificates for deaths registered in 2009.
4.1 SELECTED MULTIPLE CAUSES OF DEATH: 2009(a)(b)(c) |
|
 | UNDERLYING CAUSE | MULTIPLE CAUSE |
| Underlying | Proportion of total deaths | Multiple | Proportion of total deaths | Mean no. of causes |
| Cause of death and ICD code | no. | % | no. | % | no. |
|
| All Causes | 140 760 | 100.0 | 140 760 | - | 3.2 |
| Malignant cancers (C00-C97) | 40 988 | 29.1 | 46 604 | 33.1 | 2.5 |
| Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25) | 22 523 | 16.0 | 37 704 | 26.8 | 3.5 |
| Strokes (I60-I69) | 11 220 | 8.0 | 20 783 | 14.8 | 3.1 |
| Dementia and Alzhiemer's disease (F01, F03, G30) | 8 277 | 5.9 | 19 619 | 13.9 | 3.1 |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47) | 5 978 | 4.2 | 14 967 | 10.6 | 3.6 |
| Diabetes (E10-E14) | 4 170 | 3.0 | 14 286 | 10.1 | 4.3 |
| Diseases of the kidney and urinary system (N00-N39) | 3 312 | 2.4 | 19 056 | 13.5 | 3.7 |
| Heart failure (I50, I51) | 3 214 | 2.3 | 19 788 | 14.1 | 3.2 |
| Suicides (X60-X84, Y87.0)(d) | 2 132 | 1.5 | 2 139 | 1.5 | 2.7 |
| Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15) | 1 846 | 1.3 | 18 986 | 13.5 | 4.4 |
| Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18) | 1 796 | 1.3 | 17 522 | 12.4 | 2.1 |
| Land transport accidents (V01-V89, Y85.0) | 1 436 | 1.0 | 1 481 | 1.1 | 2.8 |
|
| - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
| (a) Causes of death data for 2009 are preliminary and subject to a revisions process. See Technical Note: Causes of Death Revisions. |
| (b) 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. Cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentialisation. |
| (c) See Explanatory Notes 73-84 for further information on specific issues relating to 2009 data. |
| (d) Care needs to be taken in interpreting figures relating to suicide. See Explanatory Notes 80-83. |
Relationships between Multiple Causes
Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18) was identified as the underlying cause for 1,796 deaths in 2009. In 41.3% of cases, influenza and pneumonia were reported alone and were typically the least likely of the selected causes to be reported with other associated causes. 2009 marks the first year in which any deaths in Australia have been coded to Influenza due to certain identified influenza virus (J09). This was as a result of the outbreak of the H1N1 virus (swine flu).
In contrast, Diabetes (E10-E14) was reported alone as the underlying cause in only 1.5% of the 4,170 deaths attributed to this cause. It was reported more frequently with the associated causes of Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25) including angina, heart attacks and blocked arteries of the heart (49.5%) and Hypertensive diseases ((I10-I15), 32.4%).
The following table illustrates relationships between the various causes of death in 2009.
4.2 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES WITH ASSOCIATED CAUSE: 2009(a)(b)(c) |
|
| Selected underlying cause | REPORTED WITH SELECTED ASSOCIATED CAUSE |
| Underlying | Reported alone | Malignant cancers (C00-C97) | Ischaemic heart disease (I20-I25) | Strokes (I60-I69) | Dementia & Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30) | Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47) | Diabetes (E10-E14) | Diseases of the kidney & urinary system (N00-N39) | Heart failure (I50-I51) | Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15) | Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18) |
| no. | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
|
| All Causes | 140 760 | 17.8 | 33.1 | 26.8 | 14.8 | 13.9 | 10.6 | 10.1 | 14.1 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 13.5 |
| Malignant cancers (C00-C97) | 40 988 | 35.3 | 100.0 | 8.6 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 6.7 | 6.6 |
| Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25) | 22 523 | 11.1 | 6.5 | 100.0 | 9.6 | 11.1 | 10.5 | 11.6 | 13.8 | 26.2 | 20.8 | 6.6 |
| Strokes (I60-I69) | 11 220 | 14.6 | 5.3 | 12.0 | 100.0 | 18.2 | 3.8 | 8.2 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 28.8 | 12.5 |
| Dementia & Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30) | 8 277 | 11.6 | 5.0 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 100.0 | 3.2 | 7.6 | 11.8 | 7.0 | 11.6 | 31.8 |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47) | 5 978 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 19.0 | 5.2 | 8.1 | 100.0 | 7.6 | 10.0 | 17.8 | 9.9 | 32.2 |
| Diabetes (E10-E14) | 4 170 | 1.5 | 6.8 | 49.5 | 21.6 | 12.8 | 7.4 | 100.0 | 30.9 | 20.0 | 32.4 | 8.9 |
| Diseases of the kidney & urinary system (N00-N39) | 3 312 | 7.2 | 4.9 | 24.6 | 7.7 | 10.5 | 5.0 | 8.1 | 100.0 | 23.0 | 4.2 | 14.9 |
| Heart failure (I50-I51) | 3 214 | 12.1 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 9.3 | 10.9 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 22.9 | 100.0 | 6.8 | 21.3 |
| Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15) | 1 846 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 8.9 | 19.3 | 7.9 | 11.1 | 32.3 | 37.5 | 100.0 | 10.1 |
| Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18) | 1 796 | 41.3 | 1.4 | 8.2 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 100.0 |
|
| (a) Causes of death data for 2009 are preliminary and subject to a revisions process. See Technical Note: Causes of Death Revisions. |
| (b) 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. Cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentialisation. |
| (c) See Explanatory Notes 73-84 for further information on specific issues relating to 2009 data. |
External Causes
Deaths due to external causes are those which occur as a result of accidents, poisonings and/or violence. They are classified according to the event leading to the fatal injury, such as an accidental fall. Multiple cause data for external causes include the nature of injury or poisoning, as well as any other causes reported on the death certificate. ICD-10 codes in the Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T98) cannot be an underlying cause of death, but can be recorded as an associated cause.
In 2009, there were 14,799 deaths where External Causes (V01-Y98) contributed to the death as a multiple cause. There was a mean of 3.4 causes coded for each of the 8,884 deaths with external causes as the underlying cause of death.
Transport accidents (V01-V99, Y85) accounted for 16.9% of all injuries with an external cause as the underlying cause of death, with 41.2% of these injuries being to the head or thorax (S00-S09, S20-S29). Suicide (X60-X84, Y87.0) accounted for 24.0% of total injuries with an external cause as the underlying cause of death, and of these, Asphyxiation (T71) was the most common injury (51.2%).
Care should be taken in interpreting numbers of suicide deaths. For further information, see
Explanatory Notes 80-83. For more detailed analysis on suicides, see
Chapter 6.
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