What are the main causes of death among Indigenous people?
For deaths identified as Indigenous in 2000-2004, cardiovascular disease (which includes heart disease and stroke) was the leading cause of death for Indigenous males and females living in Qld, WA, SA and the NT, with rates at least 3.1 and 2.6 times those of males and females of the total population [[derived from 2-5]]. For Indigenous males, the next most frequent causes of death (with the ratio of Indigenous and total male death rates in brackets) were [[derived from 2-5]]: • injuries (including transport accidents, intentional self-harm and assault) (2.8) • malignant neoplasms (cancers) (1.5); • diseases of the respiratory system (4.1); and • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (mainly diabetes) (7.5). For Indigenous females, the next most frequent causes of death (with the ratio of Indigenous and total female death rates in brackets) were: • malignant neoplasms (1.5); • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (10.6); • injuries (3.3); and • diseases of the respir
For deaths identified as Indigenous in 2001-2005, cardiovascular disease (which includes heart disease and stroke) was the leading cause of death for Indigenous males and females living in Qld, WA, SA and the NT, with rates at least 3.2 and 2.7 times those of males and females of the total population [2]. For Indigenous males, the next most frequent causes of death (with the ratio of Indigenous and total male death rates in brackets) were [2]: • injuries (including transport accidents, intentional self-harm and assault) (2.9); • malignant neoplasms (cancers) (1.5); • diseases of the respiratory system (4.3); and • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (mainly diabetes) (7.5). For Indigenous females, the next most frequent causes of death (with the ratio of Indigenous and total female death rates in brackets) were [2]: • malignant neoplasms (1.6); • injuries (3.5); • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders (10.1); and • diseases of the respiratory system (3.6).
