First Nations Burden of Disease Study 2022

In 2022, there were an estimated 4,932 deaths of First Nations people, which resulted in 158,389 YLL (fatal burden), or 155 YLL per 1,000 people. Fatal burden accounted for 50% of the total burden of disease.

To explore the contribution of fatal burden for each disease group, see Dashboard 1: Burden of disease in Australia. This visualisation provides total, fatal and non-fatal burden numbers and rates both overall and for each disease group by sex and age.

Injuries, cancer and cardiovascular diseases caused most of the fatal burden

Injuries (22%), cancer (21%) and cardiovascular diseases (19%) caused most of the fatal burden for First Nations people in 2022. Together, these 3 disease groups accounted for 62% of the fatal burden in First Nations people (Figure 12).

Other disease groups that contributed substantially to fatal burden were:

• infant & congenital conditions (6.6%)
• respiratory diseases (6.0%)
• gastrointestinal disorders (5.6%)
• infectious diseases (5.5%).

Top specific diseases contributing to fatal burden

At the individual disease level, the leading 5 causes of fatal burden were:

• coronary heart disease (11% of fatal burden)
• suicide & self-inflicted injuries (9.0%)
• lung cancer (5.5%)
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (4.8%)
• poisoning (such as the toxic effects of medicinal or other substances) (4.5%).

How does fatal burden differ between males and females?

First Nations males experienced more of the fatal disease burden (58% of YLL) than First Nations females (42%) in 2022.

Injuries, cardiovascular diseases and cancer & other neoplasms were the leading 3 contributors to fatal burden for both males and females, however the disease group rankings and the proportion of fatal burden that each contributed were different (Figure 13).

Injuries was the leading cause of fatal burden for males, accounting for over a quarter (27%) of fatal burden among males, but was the third leading cause for females, accounting for 16% of fatal burden among females. Cancer & other neoplasms was the leading cause of fatal burden for females and was the third leading cause for males, accounting for 24% and 19% of fatal burden, respectively.

Top specific causes contributing to fatal burden by sex

In 2022, the leading specific causes of fatal burden among First Nations males were:

• coronary heart disease (12% of fatal burden)
• suicide & self-inflicted injuries (11%)
• poisoning (5.3%).

Among First Nations females, the leading specific causes were:

• coronary heart disease (8.7%)
• lung cancer (6.3%)
• suicide & self-inflicted injuries (5.8%).

First Nations males experienced higher rates of fatal burden due to oesophageal cancer (3.4 times), suicide & self-inflicted injuries (2.9 times), cardiomyopathy (2.8 times), poisoning (2.1 times) and coronary heart disease (1.7 times) compared with First Nations females. First Nations females experienced higher rates of fatal burden due to dementia and atrial fibrillation and flutter (each 1.3 times) compared with First Nations males.

To further explore the leading specific causes of fatal burden, see Dashboard 4: Leading causes of disease burden. This visualisation shows the top 20 contributors to total, fatal and non-fatal burden based on age-standardised rates in 2011, 2018 and 2022 for males, females and persons, and how this has changed over time.