Victorian disease hot spots

A ‘disease map’ showing where cancer, heart disease, diabetes and respiratory diseases have killed the most Victorians, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics death records for Victoria, has been produced by an Adelaide University team.

The data, which is adjusted for the variations in age groups living in different areas, shows that people living in the country towns of Beaufort and Carranbalac in western Victoria suffered the state’s highest cancer death rate.

Diabetes is also making its mark in Victoria, killing the most people in the northern parts of the Colac Otway shire (south of Geelong), such as Colac and Beeac.

Despite some areas registering high cancer rates, Professor David Hill of Victoria’s Cancer Council, said that a person’s address was not linked to their chances of being diagnosed with the disease.

“What we know about cancer is that patterns are mostly explained by factors other than address,” he said. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and smoking were more likely to explain a person’s likelihood of dying.

Cancer is the biggest cause of death in Victoria, with nearly 9,700 deaths per year. The second biggest was heart disease, commonly callused by impaired blood flow.