Non-fatal burden (YLD)

Key messages

  • In 2022, First Nations people lost 158,944 years of healthy life due to the impact of living with disease and injury (non-fatal burden), or 155 YLD per 1,000 people. This accounted for half (50%) of the total burden.
  • In 2022, the main disease groups contributing to non-fatal burden for First Nations people were mental health conditions & substance use disorders, musculoskeletal conditions and respiratory diseases.
  • At the individual disease level, the leading causes of non-fatal burden were anxiety disorders (10% of non-fatal burden), depressive disorders (6.9%) and asthma (5.7%).
  • First Nations females experienced slightly more of the non-fatal disease burden (52% of YLD) than First Nations males (48%) in 2022.

In 2022, First Nations people lost 158,944 years of healthy life due to the impact of living with disease and injury (non-fatal burden), or 155 YLD per 1,000 people. This accounted for half (50%) of the total burden.

To explore the contribution of non-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.

Mental health conditions & substance use disorders were the main causes of non-fatal burden

In 2022, the main disease groups contributing to non-fatal burden for First Nations people were:

  • mental health conditions & substance use disorders (40%)
  • musculoskeletal conditions (13%)
  • respiratory diseases (9.5%)
  • hearing & vision disorders (6.2%)
  • neurological conditions (5.3%).

Together, these 5 disease groups accounted for about three-quarters (74%) of the non-fatal burden in First Nations people (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Proportion (%) of non-fatal burden (YLD) by disease group, First Nations people, 2022

A stacked bar chart showing the disease groups and the proportion of non-fatal burden they contribute. Mental/substance use, musculoskeletal, and respiratory contribute the most burden in that order.

A stacked bar chart showing the disease groups and the proportion of non-fatal burden they contribute. Mental/substance use, musculoskeletal, and respiratory contribute the most burden in that order.

Source: AIHW First Nations Burden of Disease Database

Top specific diseases contributing to non-fatal burden

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

  • anxiety disorders (10% of non-fatal burden)
  • depressive disorders (6.9%)
  • asthma (5.7%)
  • alcohol use disorders (5.5%)
  • back pain & problems (5.3%).

How does non-fatal burden differ between males and females?

First Nations females experienced slightly more of the non-fatal disease burden (52% of YLD) than First Nations males (48%) in 2022.

Mental health conditions & substance use disorders was the greatest contributor to non-fatal burden for both sexes. The other main disease groups contributing to non-fatal burden for males and females were musculoskeletal conditions, respiratory diseases, hearing & vision disorders and neurological conditions (Figure 11).

Together these 5 disease groups accounted for 73% of non-fatal burden in males and 74% in females.

Figure 11: Proportion (%) of non-fatal burden (YLD) by disease group and sex, First Nations people, 2022

A stacked bar chart showing the disease groups and the proportion of non-fatal burden they contribute, by sex. The top 5 disease groups are the same for both sexes.

A stacked bar chart showing the disease groups and the proportion of non-fatal burden they contribute, by sex. The top 5 disease groups are the same for both sexes.

Source: AIHW First Nations Burden of Disease Database

Top specific causes contributing to non-fatal burden by sex

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

  • anxiety disorders (8.3% of non-fatal burden)
  • alcohol use disorders (7.0%)
  • depressive disorders (6.2%).

Among First Nations females, the leading specific causes were:

  • anxiety disorders (11.5%)
  • depressive disorders (7.5%)
  • asthma (6.0%).

First Nations males experienced higher rates of non-fatal burden due autism spectrum disorders (3.2 times), schizophrenia (2.2 times) and drug use disorders (2.0 times) compared with First Nations females. First Nations females experienced higher rates of non-fatal burden due to migraine (2.3 times), bipolar affective disorders (2.2 times), osteoarthritis (1.8 times) and anxiety disorders (1.5 times) compared with First Nations males.

To further explore the leading specific causes of non-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.

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