The top Australian killers
March 19, 2013
HEART disease is still the number
one killer of Australian men and
women, according to new figures
released by the Australian Bureau
of Statistics.
The report, Causes of Death in
Australia, found that despite being
the number one killer, deaths from
heart disease have fallen steadily
since 2002.
According to the numbers there
were 21,513 deaths from heart
disease in 2011, with heart disease
accounting for 15% of all deaths in
2011 compared to 19% of all deaths
in 2002.
“Heart disease has remained the
leading cause of death in Australia
over the last ten years and
continued to be the leading cause
in 2011,” said James Eynstone-
Hinkins, Director of the Health and
Vitals Statistics Unit.
Meanwhile, there were 9,864 deaths
caused by dementia and Alzheimer’s
disease in 2011, comprising 7% of
all deaths, the majority of which
occurred in people aged 75 or over.
Another big killer was lung cancer,
which was found to have made up
6% of all deaths and 19% of all
deaths from cancer - making it the
fourth leading cause of death for
Australians in 2011, whilst prostate
cancer was the fifth most common
cause of death for men.
Among women, breast cancer
was found to be the sixth most
common cause of death.
There were also 1,530 deaths from
falls among people aged over 75
last year (with women accounting
for 57% of these deaths).
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