Media Release
August 30, 2001
INDIGENOUS HEALTH: GREATER RISKS, SHORTER LIFE EXPECTANCY
Indigenous Australians have higher death rates, shorter life expectancy, and
are more likely to be hospitalised than other Australians, according to a major
biennial report
launched in Sydney today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Over the period 1997-99, death rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people were higher than those recorded in the general population for
almost all causes
of death and for every age group. In the age group 35-54 years, the
Indigenous death rate was 5-6 times higher than for the total Australian
population.
The life expectancy at birth for an Indigenous male was 56 years, and for an
Indigenous female, 63 years. Comparable life expectancies were experienced by
males in
the total population in 1901-10, and females in 1920-22. Today males in the
total Australian population have a life expectancy of 76 years and females 82
years.
Diseases of the circulatory system, cancer and accidents and injuries
together accounted for 60% of all identified Indigenous deaths, affecting
Indigenous people at
younger ages than in the total Australian population. There were 7-9 times
more deaths of Indigenous people from endocrine and metabolic diseases (of which
88% were
related to diabetes) based on rates for the total Australian
population.
In 1998-99, Indigenous people were more likely than other people to be
hospitalised for many diseases and conditions. Just over 26% of hospital stays
for Indigenous
people were for 'care involving dialysis', making this the main reason for
hospitalisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
'There is still a need for many improvements to the way Indigenous health and
welfare data are collected in Australia, and the ABS and AIHW, in co-operation
with other
agencies, are developing strategies to help make this happen,' said Dr Janis
Shaw, Director of the ABS National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander
Statistics, where the report was compiled. 'Despite improvements
that have been made in the way health and welfare agencies collect
information, further progress is necessary to make the accurate measurement of
change more
accurate with respect to many Indigenous health and welfare issues.'
Details are in The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Peoples, 2001 (Cat. No. 4704.0), available from ABS bookshops in
capital cities.
This media release and a summary of the main findings can be found on the
Internet at http://www.abs.gov.au.
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