Good health, bad health habits – at a cost
Australia has much to be proud of in many areas of health, but lifestyle related chronic diseases are taking an increasing toll – and so is the bill, according to the latest twice yearly national health report card from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
David Kalisch, AIHW director and chief executive, says in addition to Australia’s health successes, there are also health 'worries' as Australia's population ages.
The Institute's report, Australia's health 2014, was released in Canberra yesterday by federal Health Minister Peter Dutton.
David Kalisch, AIHW director and chief executive, said: “On the positive side, the report shows we have increasingly longer life expectancy, lower death rates for cancer and many other diseases, and a health system that people say they are mostly happy with.”
According to Mr Kalisch, there’s room for improvement when it comes to people monitoring their health.
“As Australians are increasingly living with ongoing or ‘chronic’ diseases, their risk factors are often related to Australia’s ageing population, as well as to lifestyles and health habits,” he said.
Chronic diseases are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in Australia, accounting for 90% of all deaths in 2011.
Chronic diseases have often been named as “Australia's greatest health challenge”. While not solely related to behavioural factors in all cases, chronic diseases can be heavily linked to smoking, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and the harmful use of alcohol.
Mr Kalisch said that, in Australia, as was happening in many developed nations, the costs of health care kept rising.
“They have risen faster than inflation and the economy as a whole for many years, and in recent years have outpaced government revenues from taxation and other sources.
“We find that health spending is taking up a greater proportion of government revenue than it used to – 26% in 2011-12.”
Life expectancy, the 'universal health indicator', reportedly places Australia among the top nations in the world, sixth for men and seventh for women, but close to the first placed nations in 2011 (Iceland for males, Japan for females).
“We are living 25 years longer on average than a century ago, so that a boy born today can expect to live to 79.9 years, and a girl to 84,” Mr Kalisch said.
“An extra piece of good news is that almost all of the extra four years gained since the late 1990s have been disability free years,' he added.
Most Australians also rated themselves highly in the health stakes. In 2011-12, 85% of people aged 15 years and over considered themselves to be in good to excellent health. This perception did not reduce much with age, with an estimated 67% to 76% of people aged 65 and over considering themselves to have good to excellent health.
Other positive news includes:
- Smoking rates continuing to fall (16% smoking daily in 2010, 43% in 1964). Quitting can result in a life expectancy increase of 10 years.
- Improving cancer survival. Five year survival from cancers was 66% in 2006-2010, compared with 47% in the mid 1980s. Among people surviving five years in 2006-2010, the chance of surviving at least another five years was 91%.
- A 20% fall in heart attack rates between 2007 and 2011, and stroke rates fell 25% between 1997 and 2009.
- Falls in injury death rates of about 3% to 5% each year for causes such as transport injury, thermal injury (exposure to fire, heat, smoke and hot substances), drowning, suicide and homicide.
However, in addition to Australia’s health successes, there are also health worries, according to Mr Kalisch.
“We know that across all ages, changes in health behaviours can reduce the impact of chronic diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that, worldwide, up to 80% of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, and up to one third of cancers, could be prevented by eliminating smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol.
“Although daily smoking rates are low by world standards, at 16% for adults, in some areas of Australia (principally high socioeconomic status areas) the rate is 10%, meaning that further improvements are possible,” he said.
In Australia, more than three in five adults (63%) are overweight or obese. Nearly three in five (57%) do not exercise enough for good health, and in 2011-12, only 8% of adults were eating enough vegetables and 49% were eating enough fruit for optimum nutrition.
The report highlights health issues at various life stages, with findings such as:
- The most common long term health conditions afflicting older Australians (65 and over) are arthritis, high blood pressure and hearing loss.
- For 25-44 year olds, the top two causes of death for men in 2011 were suicide and accidental poisoning, and for women, suicide and breast cancer.
- For those aged 45 to 64 year olds, the top two causes of death for men were coronary heart disease and lung cancer, and for women, breast cancer and lung cancer.
