Australia now second in life expectancy stakes
Photo: James Brickwood
Leo Shanahan
June 25, 2008
Page 1 of 2 | Single Page View
AUSTRALIANS are now the second-longest-living people on earth with falling death rates for cancer, heart disease, stroke and injury, but the indigenous population continues to die earlier.
The latest comparative study of the nation's overall health by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) - the government body responsible for compiling health statistics - shows that a baby born in Australia today can expect to live for 81.4 years, with men expected to live for 79 years and women for almost 84. Australians' life expectancy is bettered only by the Japanese at 82.2 years.
But according to the Australia's Health 2008 report, indigenous people continue to trail in life expectancy and mortality rates.
"Not all groups within the Australian community are so fortunate - among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, life expectancy at birth is around 17 years less," the report says.
The latest institute-approved figures on life expectancy for Aborigines, between 1996 and 2001, were 59 years for men and 65 years for women, similar to those for Aborigines at the turn of the last century.
Death rates among indigenous males and females were at least twice as high, across all age groups, as those for non-indigenous males and females.
In the four Australian states with the best data on indigenous mortality, 71% of those who died in the 2001-05 period were younger than 65 years, compared with 21% for the rest of the Australian population.
Dr Fadwa Al-Yaman, head of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health at the AIHW, said there was no evidence that the 17-year difference in life expectancy would narrow in the near future, partly because of the speed with which the rest of the population was becoming healthier.
"We have seen declines in (indigenous) mortality but most of that is in the very young ones. The greatest impact on life expectancy is likely to be on the middle-age group where most of the mortality is happening now," he said. Continued...
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) conference, held in Canberra, Australia, received mixed messages on Tuesday about the health of Australians. While average life expectancy is 81.4 years, second only to Japan's 82.2, and rates of cancer, heart disease and stroke are dropping, incidence of obesity, alcohol-related diseases, and sexually transmitted infections are on the increase.

The AIHW report highlighted the increasing gap between Australia's Indigenous population and the rest of the nation. Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have a life expectancy around 17 years lower than the general populace, and in at least four states 71% of Aboriginals who died were under 65-years old, compared with 21% for the rest of the population. Indigenous Australians are reported to have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, respiratory illness, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. People living in rural and regional areas were also found to have lower life expectancies and higher illness rates than their suburban and metropolitan counterparts.

While obesity is a growing concern in Australia, AIHW director Penny Allbon expressed skepticism over a recent report from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute that claimed that Australia had overtaken the United States as the "fattest" nation in the world, with "over four million adult Australians ... currently obese". Allben commented that the institute's sample from 100 locations across the country may not be representative of the whole population. "At the moment the ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics is out there measuring height and weight in a population-based survey, so we don't know the results," Dr Allbon said. "We were just a bit concerned that the statistics that came out about us being the fattest in the world is not based on a population survey." AIHW reported the number of Australians being obese as closer to 2.5 million, with 7.4 million being overweight.

Between 1997 and 2005, the number of general practitioners in Australia has dropped 9%, although in regional areas there has been an increase of 15%.

Based on the report, the AIHW has recommended that Australians consider lifestyle change, such as healthier eating and more exercise, to alleviate the pressure on Australia's public health system. "In rank order, the greatest improvements can be achieved through reductions in tobacco smoking, high blood pressure, overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, high blood cholesterol and excessive alcohol consumption," according to Dr. Allbon.