• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

CAUSES OF DEATH, VICTORIA, 2008

Statistics on causes of death are one of the oldest and most comprehensive set of health statistics available in Australia, and can provide insights into the impact of disease on Australian society. Causes of death information provide insights into the diseases and factors which are responsible for reducing life expectancy.

Ranking causes of death is a useful method of describing patterns of mortality in a population. It allows comparison over time and between populations, however, different methods of grouping causes of death can result in a vastly different list of leading causes for any given population. The ranking of leading causes of death in the following sections are based on research presented in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, Volume 84, Number 4, April 2006, 257-336 and have been classified using the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Please refer to Causes of Death, Australia, 2008 (cat. no. 3303.0) Explanatory Notes for further information.

In the following chapter, 'Victorian deaths' relate to deaths of Victorian usual residents, regardless of where in Australia the death occurred and was registered, as well as deaths registered in Victoria of persons who usually reside overseas.

The number of deaths registered each year continues to increase as the size and age of the Victorian population increases. In 2008, there were 35,497 Victorian deaths, 7.8% more than the number registered in 2003 and 11% higher than in 1999. Males accounted for half of Victorian deaths registered in 2008. All coroner certified deaths registered after 1 January 2007 are now subject to a revisions process after 12 and 24 months. The data contained in the following chapter includes 2008 (preliminary) data which are subject to a revisions process. For more information see Technical Note 2: Causes of Death - Revisions Process. Recent process improvements have positively impacted data for 2008, for further information see Technical Note 1: 2008 COD Collection - Process Improvements.

In 2008, the leading underlying cause of death for all Victorians was Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25), which includes angina, blocked arteries of the heart and heart attacks. Ischaemic heart diseases were identified as the underlying cause of 5,670 deaths, 16% of all deaths registered in 2008. While Ischaemic heart diseases have been the leading cause of death since 1999, the number of deaths due to this cause has decreased, from 6,520 (20% of all deaths) in 1999 to 5,670 (16% of all deaths) in 2008.

Cerebrovascular disease [Strokes] (I60-I69) remained the second leading underlying cause of death in 2008. Strokes include haemorrhages, strokes, infarctions and blocked arteries of the brain. Compared to 10 years ago, deaths due to this cause decreased by 5.5%, from 2,903 deaths in 1999 to 2,744 deaths in 2008. The proportion of all deaths attributed to Strokes has decreased over the last 10 years, from 9.1% of deaths in 1999 to 7.7% in 2008.

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30) was the third leading cause of death in 2008. The number of deaths due to this cause increased by 139%, from 924 deaths in 1999 to 2208 deaths in 2008.

Leading Causes of Death, Victoria

3.1 Leading Causes of Death(a)(b), Victoria - Selected years
	1999		2003		2008(c)(d)
Cause of Death (ICD code)	no.	Rank	no.	Rank	no.	Rank
Ischaemic heart diseases (I20-I25)	6 520	1	6 167	1	5 670	1
Strokes (I60-I69)	2 903	2	2 808	2	2 744	2
Dementia and Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30)	924	8	1 133	6	2 208	3
Trachea and lung cancer (C33-C34)	1 679	3	1 805	3	1 973	4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47)	1 512	4	1 538	4	1 683	5
Colon and Rectum Cancer (C18-C21)	1 232	5	1 332	5	1 138	6
Diabetes (E10-E14)	975	6	1 053	7	1 110	7
Blood and lymph cancer (including leukaemia) (C81-C96)	941	7	954	8	1 021	8
Heart failure (I50-I51)	801	9	880	9	858	9
Prostate cancer (C61)	680	12	760	12	785	10
Diseases of the kidney and urinary system (N00-N39)	746	10	782	11	775	11
Breast cancer (C50)	689	11	752	13	710	12
Pancreatic cancer (C25)	447	16	500	15	613	13
Suicide (X60-X84)(e)	552	13	540	14	504	14
Falls (W00-W19)	101	44	147	39	472	15
Cardiac arrhythmias (I47-I49)	255	25	291	23	436	16
Influenza and pneumonia (J10-J18)	466	14	832	10	425	17
Hypertensive diseases (I10-I15)	326	19	334	17	400	18
Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver (K70-K77)	299	21	328	20	372	19
Skin cancers (C43-C44)	277	22	331	18	357	20
(a) Figures greater than zero and less than five are randomly adjusted to preserve confidentiality.
(b) Causes listed are the leading causes of death for all deaths registered in 2008 based on the WHO recommended tabulation of leading causes. See Explanatory Notes 40-42 of Causes of Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0) for further information.
(c) Causes of death data for 2008 are preliminary and subject to a revisions process. See Technical Note 2: Causes of Death - Revisions Process (cat. no. 3303.0) for further information.
(d) 2008 data have been subject to process improvements which have increased the quality of these data. See Technical Note 1: 2008 COD Collection - Process Improvements (cat. no. 3303.0) for further information.
(e) 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 due to limitations of the data, see Explanatory Notes 72-75 of Causes of Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0) for further information.
Source: Causes of Deaths, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0).

• Trachea and lung cancers (C33-C34), for which there were 178 male deaths for every 100 female deaths
• Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J47), for which there were 116 male deaths for every 100 female deaths
• Strokes (I60-I69), for which there were 65 male deaths for every 100 female deaths
• Dementia and Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30), for which there were 48 male deaths for every 100 female deaths.

• Intentional self harm [Suicide] (X60-X84) - 78%
• Cirrhosis and other diseases of the liver (K70-K77) - 67%
• Trachea and lung cancers (C33-C34) - 64%
• Skin Cancers (C43-C44) - 63%
• Parkinson's Disease (G20)- 58%

• Dementia and Alzheimer's disease (F01, F03, G30) - 67%
• Strokes (I60-I69) - 61%
• Heart failure (I50-I51) - 59%
• Diseases of the Kidney and Urinary system (N00-N39) - 56%