Australian Burden of Disease Study: impact and causes of illness and death in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2011

This report provides estimates of the non-fatal and fatal burden of disease for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population as well as estimates of the gap in disease burden between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The disease groups causing the most burden among Indigenous Australians in 2011 were mental and substance use disorders, injuries, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and respiratory diseases. Indigenous Australians experienced a burden of disease that was 2.3 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians. Over one third of the overall disease burden experienced by Indigenous Australians could be prevented by removing exposure to risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol use, high body mass, physical inactivity and high blood pressure.