Australia Yearbook - 2001

330 Year Book Australia 2001
%
100
80
9.3 PREVALENCE OF LONG TERM CONDITIONS—1995
Hypertension
Hypermetropia/Far-sighted
Deafness
Total
60
40
20
0
0–4 15–19 30–34 45–49 60–64 75–79 90 and over
Age Groups
Source: Unpublished data, 1995 National Health Survey.
Long-term mortality trends
This article discusses trends in causes of death 1
through the 20th century.
There were 127,202 deaths registered in 1998, a
decrease of 1.7% on the corresponding figure
for 1997. The 1998 total consisted of 67,073
male and 60,129 female deaths.
In 1998 deaths from cancer (27% of all deaths)
and Ischaemic heart disease (22%) were the
leading causes of death, followed by
cerebrovascular disease (9%) (table 9.4).
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and
allied conditions (including asthma, emphysema
and bronchitis) (5%) was the fourth leading
cause of death, followed by accidents (4%).
9.4 LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH—1998
Males Females
Persons
Proportion of
total deaths
Causes of death
no. no.
no.
%
All causes 67 073 60 129 127 202 100.0
Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 19 279 15 037 34 316 26.5
Malignant neoplasms of trachea, bronchus and lung 4 821 2 053 6 874 5.4
Ischaemic heart disease 15 024 12 801 27 825 21.9
Cerebrovascular disease (stroke) 4 812 7 170 11 982 9.4
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and allied conditions 3 628 2 486 6 114 4.8
Pneumonia and influenza 2 049 2 530 4 579 3.6
Accidents 3 168 1 652 4 820 3.8
Motor vehicle traffic accidents 1 224 507 1 731 1.4
Diseases of arteries, arterioles and capillaries 1 415 1 330 2 745 2.2
Diabetes mellitus 1 424 1 327 2 751 2.2
Suicide 2 150 533 2 683 2.1
Hereditary and degenerative diseases of the central nervous
system 947 1 085 2 032 1.6
All other causes 12 866 14 245 27 111 21.3
Source: Causes of Death, Australia, 1998 (3303.0).