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The impact of tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption on Aboriginal mortality in Western Australia, 1989–1991
Author(s) -
Unwin C Elizabeth,
Thomson Neil J,
Gracey Michael S
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1995.tb140009.x
Subject(s) - demography , medicine , alcohol consumption , tobacco use , mortality rate , epidemiology , northern territory , alcohol , etiology , environmental health , geography , population , surgery , biology , biochemistry , archaeology , sociology
Objectives: To compare the estimated death rates associated with alcohol and tobacco use for Australian Aboriginals in Western Australia with those for non‐Aboriginals. Method: Deaths attributable to tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption were estimated for 1989–1991 with the aetiological fractions method, using data from the Health Department of Western Australia's mortality database. Results: Tobacco smoking was responsible for 15.4% of all deaths and 13.9% of Aboriginal deaths, and alcohol consumption for 5% and 9.2%, respectively. The age‐standardised death rates per 1 person‐years for tobacco and alcohol were: Aboriginal males, 271 and 152; other males, 113 and 29; Aboriginal females, 118 and 56; and other females, 32 and 15. Of those who died as a result of tobacco use, 49% of Aboriginal males and 48% of Aboriginal females died before 55 years of age, compared with 11% and 10%, respectively, in non‐Aboriginal males. For alcohol‐related deaths, 62% of Aboriginal males and 70% of Aboriginal females died before 55 years of age, compared with 35% and 23%, respectively, in non‐Aboriginals. Conclusion: During 1989–1991 tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption were responsible for much higher death rates among Aboriginals than among non‐Aboriginals in Western Australia.