THE HEALTH OF AUSTRALIANS

The Health of Australians

The Health of Australians

Part 1

A selection of important health measures & health outcomes for all Australians

Rates: Australian males

(AIHW 2012)

Rates: Australian females (AIHW2012)

MORTALITY:

Overall mortality rates in 2010 (=15 years)

680 per 100 000

680 per 100 000

1 Coronary heart disease mortality rates in 2009 (=15 years)

300per 100 000

480 per 100 000

2 lung cancer mortality rates in 2009 (=15 years)

340 per 100 000

112 per 100 000

3 Diabetes mortality rates in 2009 (=15 years)

450 per 100 000

560 per 100 000

4 Suicide mortality rates in 2009 (=15 years)

172 per 100 000

400 per 100 000

MORBIDITY: All Australians

Cancer incidence in 2008(=15 years)

800

450

Coronary heart disease 2007-08(=15 years)

470

300

7 Mental health; very high levels of psychological distress (2007-08)

1500

900

8 Asthma (2007-08)

2400

1200

9 Hospitalisations due to injuries (2009-10)

POSITIVE MEASURES OF HEALTH

10 Self assessed health status as Excellent or very good health in 2007-08 (=15 years)

All Australians

11 5 year olds fully vaccinated (2011)

=30000

12 Women 20-69 years participating in cervical cancer screening

=18000

13 Individuals (=14) who have never smoked 2010

AREAS OF CONCERN

14 Adequate fruit consumption >12 years (2007 08)

Males

45000

Females

25000

15 Adequate veg consumption >12 years (2007-08)

5000

12000

15 Obese individuals (=18 years)

18000

30000

16Alcohol consumption at risky levels (2 or more standard drinks daily) in 2010(=14 years)

30000

55000

Part 2

Mortality

Recent estimates of alcohol-related mortality range from 64,000 to 140,000 per year for 2000 or 2001, with “best judgment” point estimates in the range of 76,000-85,000. Earlier estimates reported by NIAAA for 1979-1996 ranged from 103,000 to 113,000. Analyses of external modifiable factors that contribute to death, labeled “actual causes of death,” have placed alcohol consumption as the third leading such cause for 1990 and 2000, after (1) tobacco use, and (2) poor diet and physical inactivity.

Available evidence indicates that total mortality attributable to alcohol has declined in recent years, although methodological changes may influence the estimates. The Quick Facts section of the NIAAA Web site reports that alcohol-related mortality for the Australia declined from a high of 112,933 in 1980 to a low of 103,247 in 1983, followed by 12 years of steady increases to a peak of 111,290 in 1995 before leveling off at 110,640 in 1996 (Clapp, 2005, pp. 327-334).

Several recent studies have estimated alcohol-attributable mortality for 2000 or 2001 at levels substantially below those reported for earlier years. Midanik et al. (2004) estimated alcohol-attributable deaths at 75,766 for 2001 based on condition-specific alcohol-attributable fractions, most of which were calculated using estimates of relative risk drawn from Australian meta-analyses. Alcohol was the third ranked preventable cause of death in the Australia. Rivara et al. (2004) estimated 63,718 alcohol-attributable deaths for 2000 using generally similar methods but based their findings on relative risk estimates comparing heavier alcohol consumption levels to lower-level consumption (rather than to abstention). Mokdad et al. (2004) reported estimates of alcohol-attributable deaths for 2000 based on several alternative methods, including a condition-specific approach using the Australian relative risk estimates that yielded an overall estimate of 69,989 and a best-judgment estimate of approximately 85,000 (Engs, 1996, pp. 13-33). The differences between recent estimates and earlier findings appear to ...