According to the latest self-rating of our health status, 85 per cent of Australians regard their health to be 'excellent', 'very good' or 'good', with people living longer than ever before and death rates continuing to fall.
However, in the past 12 months, some 19 per cent have a disability, 20 per cent a mental health disorder, and 50 at least one chronic disease. Lifestyle factors are a recurring theme of Australia's health 2016 report the latest two-yearly snapshot issued today (13 Sept) by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The report shows that 13 per cent of the adult population smokes daily,18 per cent consume alcohol at risky levels, and 95 per cent do not eat the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables.
While 55 per cent believe they do enough physical activity, 63 per cent of Australians are overweight or obese.
The report was launched by federal Health Minister Sussan Ley who said the outcomes were a ‘testament’ to the government’s ‘significant investment’ into health care, which now accounts for one-quarter of total revenue.
The Minister highlighted the finding that half of all Australians have a chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes or a mental health disorder, with one-in-four having two or more such conditions.
In an echo of the current Boyer Lectures by Prof Michael Marmot, the AIHW’s CEO Barry Sandison said while lifestyle choices were a major contributor to the development of many chronic diseases, other factors such as our income, education and whether we had a job - the so-called 'social determinants' - all affected our health, for better or worse.
“As a general rule, every step up the socioeconomic ladder is accompanied by an increase in health. Compared with people living in the highest socioeconomic areas, people living in the lowest socioeconomic areas generally live about 3 years less, are 1.6 times as likely to have more than one chronic health condition, and are 3 times as likely to smoke daily, he said.
The report also highlights disparities in the health of particular population groups.
“For example, while there have been some improvements overall in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian - including falls in smoking rates and infant mortality - Indigenous Australians continue to have a lower life expectancy than non-Indigenous Australians, at 69.1 years for males and 73.7 for females, more than 10 years shorter than for non-Indigenous Australians,” Mr Sandison said.
Indigenous Australians also continue to have higher rates of many diseases, such as diabetes, end-stage kidney disease and coronary heart disease.
For people living in rural and remote areas, where accessing services can be more difficult, lower life expectancy and higher rates of disease and injury—particularly road accidents - are of concern.
Of the $155 billion spent on health in 2013-14, $145 billion was recurrent expenditure. Hospitals accounted for 40% of recurrent expenditure ($59 billion), primary health care 38% ($55 billion), with the remaining 22% spent on other health goods and services.
For the first time, the report examines how spending by age for people admitted to hospital has changed over time.
Mr Sandison said the analysis showed that the largest increase in spending between 2004-05 and 2012-13 was for Australians aged 50 and over.
“This was due to more being spent per person in the population as well as the increased number of people in these age groups.”
