There are many positive things to say about the health of Australians. We generally have good health, our health is improving on many fronts, and it compares well with other countries. There has been a great deal of progress over the past century.
However, there are serious areas of concern that need to be tackled and there are things we can do to improve our health. Those aspects will be covered in later sections. This section presents some examples of the good news.
Heart, stroke deaths are down
As a group, cardiovascular disease (also known as CVD) includes heart attack, stroke and other heart and blood vessel diseases. This type of disease is Australia’s biggest killer, accounting for 33% of all deaths in 2009. Further, many people are at risk because of high blood pressure and blood cholesterol, and lifestyle habits such as smoking, low levels of exercise and poor diet.
However, the good news is that we have seen spectacular declines in deaths from CVD. There has been a 78% fall since 1968 and the rate is now much lower than it was 100 years ago. Much of this decline comes from improvements in the prevention, detection and management of CVD over the past 60 years.
If the rate had remained at its 1968 peak, 202,400 people would have died from CVD in 2009 instead of the 46,100 who did. This represents a saving of more than 156,000 lives in 2009 alone. By way of comparison, there were 141,000 deaths from all causes in 2009.
Surviving a heart attack is more likely
Compared with previous years, people who have heart attacks have a better chance of surviving.
For those aged 40–90 who had a heart attack in 2009, 63% survived, compared with 47% in 1997. Part of this trend, however, may be due to an increase in the diagnosis of milder heart attacks, as tests have become increasingly sensitive over time.
Survival rates are generally similar for males and females, although males are more than twice as likely as females to have a heart attack.
Cancer deaths down, survival rates up
Cancer is a major cause of death in Australia, accounting for 29% of all deaths recorded in 2009. While the actual number of deaths from cancer continues to increase due to people living longer and population growth, the death rate (the number of deaths per 100,000 population) is falling. Between 1989 and 2009, the overall cancer death rate fell by 23% for males and 17% for females.
The prospect of survival for people diagnosed with cancer has improved. From 2006 to 2010, people diagnosed with cancer had a 66% chance of living for 5 or more years after diagnosis. Further, survival from cancer in Australia is generally high compared with most other countries.
Cigarettes burning out
Tobacco smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill health and death in Australia. It contributes to more hospitalisations and deaths each year than alcohol and illicit drug use combined.
Rates of smoking have been falling for decades in Australia. Overall, 15% of Australians aged 14 or older now smoke daily, compared with 30% in 1985. This figure is expected to further decline, given the decreasing proportion of younger people smoking daily and the increasing proportion who have never smoked.
However, certain population groups are at greater risk. Those more likely than average to smoke include people who are unable to work or are unemployed, those identifying as homosexual or bisexual, people living in remote areas, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Breathing easier
Another major disease to show a fall in death rates is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and is characterised by frequent coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath.
The fall in death rates began much earlier for males but also started from a much higher level than for females. This is probably because male smoking rates had been much higher than those of females but started to decline in the 1960s, as opposed to the late 1970s for females.
The gap between male and female death rates from COPD has narrowed substantially over the past 40 years.