Asthma deaths down
August 14, 2014
THE death rate from asthma in
Australia has dropped by 70% since
the 1980s, a new report from the
Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare (AIHW) has found.
While the mortality rate had
seen a substantial decline in recent
years, it was still relatively high
on an international scale, at 1.5
deaths per 100,000 people, AIHW
Australian Centre for Airways
disease Monitoring spokesman
Professor Guy Marks said.
‘Mortality from asthma and COPD
in Australia’ found in 2011, asthma
was the underlying cause of 378
deaths, 0.3% of all deaths in the
country that year.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD) was the underlying
cause of 5,767 deaths among
people aged 55 and over, or 4.4%
of all deaths for that age group, the
report found.
Marks said the report showed
that COPD was a leading cause
of death in Australia and
internationally, and many deaths
due to both asthma and COPD were
potentially preventable.
The report found that death rates
due to asthma increased with age
and peaked in late winter for those
aged 65 and over.
Death rates from COPD among
males were almost double those
among females and were usually
highest in winter also, Marks said.
CLICK HERE to read the report.
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