PATTERNS OF MORTALITY IN WESTERN-AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINALS, 1983-1989

The ratios of age-standardized mortality rates of Aboriginals to non-Aboriginals in Western Australia during the period 1983-1989 were 2.6 for males and 3.0 for females. Mortality rates experienced by Aboriginals were much higher in all age categories except 75 + years and for most major diseases except neoplasms. The peaks of all-cause age-specific mortality rate ratios (RR) for Aboriginal males and females were 10.2 (at 40-44 years) and 10.0 (at 35-39 years), respectively. These excess mortalities were mainly due to circulatory diseases, injury and poisoning, respiratory diseases and, in females, to digestive diseases and genitourinary diseases. The highest age-standardized, cause-specific RR for Aboriginal males were for mental disorders (10.3), injury and poisoning (8.9) and genitourinary diseases (8.6); for females the highest RR were for genitourinary diseases (16.9), endocrine, nutritional and metabolic (mainly diabetes mellitus) (12.3), and for infectious and parasitic diseases (7.5).