1. Overview of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status 2015
Key facts

2. Indigenous population
At 30 June 2015, the estimated Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population was 729,048 people.
For 2015, it was estimated that NSW had the highest number of Indigenous people (225,349 people, 31% of the total Indigenous population).
For 2015, it was estimated that the NT had the highest proportion of Indigenous people in its population (30% of the NT population were Indigenous).

3. In 2015, around 35% of Indigenous people lived in a capital city.
There was a 21% increase in the number of Indigenous people counted in the 2011 Census compared with the 2006 Census.
The Indigenous population is much younger than the non- Indigenous population.

4. Births and pregnancy outcome
In 2014, there were 17,779 births registered in Australia with one or both parents identified as Indigenous (5.9% of all births registered).
In 2014, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers were younger than non-Indigenous mothers; the median age was 25.1 years for Indigenous mothers and 30.9 years for all mothers.
In 2014, total fertility rates were 2,222 births per 1,000 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and 1,804 per 1,000 for all women.

5. In 2013, the average birthweight of babies born to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers was 3,200 grams compared with 3,361 grams for babies born to non-Indigenous mothers.
In 2013, the proportion of low birthweight babies born to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women was twice that of non-Indigenous women (12% compared with 6.1%).

6. Indigenous mortality
In , the age-standardised death rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 1.7 times the rate for non-Indigenous people.
Between 1998 and 2013, there was a 16% reduction in the death rates for Indigenous people in WA, SA and the NT.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people born , life expectancy was estimated to be 69.1 years for males and 73.7 years for females, around years less than the estimates for non-Indigenous males and females.
In , age-specific death rates were higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for non-Indigenous people across all age- groups, and were much higher in the young and middle adult years.

7. For , the infant mortality rate was higher for Indigenous infants than for non-Indigenous infants; the rate for Indigenous infants was highest in the NT.
From 1998 to 2012, there were significant declines in infant mortality rates for Indigenous infants.
For 2012, the leading causes of death among Indigenous people were cardiovascular disease, neoplasms (almost entirely cancers), and injury.
In , for direct maternal deaths the rate ratio was 2.2 times higher for Indigenous women than for non-Indigenous women.

8. Indigenous hospitalisation
In , 4.2% of all hospitalisations were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
In , the age-standardised separation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 2.3 times higher than for other Australians.
In , the main cause of hospitalisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was for care involving dialysis, responsible for 45% of Indigenous separations.

9. Cardiovascular disease
In , 13% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported having a long-term heart or related condition; after age-adjustment, these conditions were around 1.2 times more common for Indigenous people than for non-Indigenous people.
In , hospitalisation rates for circulatory disease were twice as high for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for non-Indigenous people.
In 2013, cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, accounting for 24% of Indigenous deaths.
In 2013, the age-adjusted death rate from ischaemic heart diseases and cerebrovascular diseases for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were both 1.6 times the rate for non-Indigenous people.

10. Cancer
In , age-adjusted cancer incidence rates were slightly lower for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for non-Indigenous people.
In , the most common cancers diagnosed among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were lung and breast cancer.
In , age-standardised hospitalisation rates for cancer were lower for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for non-Indigenous people.
In 2013, the age-standardised death rate for cancer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 1.3 times higher than for non-Indigenous people.

11. Diabetes
In , 9% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported having diabetes; after age-adjustment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were more than 3 times more likely to report having some form of diabetes than were non-Indigenous people.
In , age-adjusted hospitalisation rates for diabetes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females were 3.5 and 4.7 times the rates for other males and females.
In 2013, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died from diabetes at 6 times the rate of non-Indigenous people.

12. Social and emotional wellbeing
In , 69% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults experienced at least one significant stressor in the previous 12 months.
In , after age-adjustment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were 2.7 times as likely as non-Indigenous people to feel high or very high levels of psychological distress.
In , 91% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported feelings of calmness and peacefulness, happiness, fullness of life and energy either some, most, or all of the time.

13. In , after age-adjustment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were hospitalised for ICD ‘Mental and behavioural disorders’ at 2.1 times the rate for non-Indigenous people.
In , there were 16,070 hospital separations with a principal diagnosis of ICD ‘Mental and behavioural disorders’ identified as Indigenous.
In 2013, the death rate for ICD ‘Intentional self-harm’ (suicide) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 2.2 times the rate reported for non- Indigenous people.

14. Kidney health
In , after age-adjustment, the notification rate of end stage renal disease was 6.6 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for non-Indigenous people.
In , care involving dialysis was the most common reason for hospitalisation among Indigenous people.
In , the age-standardised death rate from kidney disease was 2.6 times higher for Indigenous people than for non- Indigenous people.

15. Injury
In , after age-adjustment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were hospitalised for injury at nearly twice the rate for other Australians.
In , the hospitalisation rate for assault was 34 times higher for Indigenous women than for other women.
In 2013, injury was the third most common cause of death among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, accounting for 15% of Indigenous deaths.

16. Respiratory disease
In , 31% of Indigenous people reported having a respiratory condition. After age-adjustment, the level of respiratory disease was 1.2 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander than non-Indigenous people. In , 18% of Indigenous people reported having asthma.
In , after age-adjustment, rates for Indigenous people were 4.4 times higher for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 3.3 times higher for influenza and pneumonia, 1.8 times higher for asthma, 1.8 times higher for acute upper respiratory infections and 1.4 times higher for whooping cough, than for their non-Indigenous counterparts.
In 2013, after age-adjustment, the death rate for respiratory disease for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 2.0 times that for non- Indigenous people.

17. Eye health
In , eye and sight problems were reported by 33% of Indigenous people.
In , myopia and hyperopia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were reported at 0.8 and 1.1 times the proportions for their non-Indigenous counterparts. The proportion who reported blindness was 7.4 times more than for their non-indigenous counterparts.

18. Ear health
In , ear/hearing problems were reported by 12% of Indigenous people.
In , the hospitalisation rate for ear/hearing problems for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4-14 years was 1.6 times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous children.

19. Oral health
In 2010 in Qld, WA, SA, Tas, ACT and the NT, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had more dental problems than non- Indigenous children.
In , caries and periodontal diseases were more prevalent among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults than among non- Indigenous adults.

20. Disability
In 2012, after age-adjustment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were 1.7 times as likely as non-Indigenous people to have a profound/core activity restriction.

21. Communicable diseases
In , after age-adjustment, the notification rate for tuberculosis was 11.3 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for Australian-born non-Indigenous people.
In , the crude notification rate for hepatitis B was 3.6 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than non-Indigenous people.
In , the crude notification rate for hepatitis C for Indigenous people was 7.8 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for non-Indigenous people.
In , notification rates for Haemophilus influenza type b were times higher for Indigenous people than for non- Indigenous people.

22. In 2013, the age-adjusted rate of invasive pneumococcal disease for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 32 per 100,000.
In , the age-adjusted notification rate of meningococcal disease was 2.7 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for other Australians; the rate for Indigenous children aged 0-4 years was 3.8 times higher than for their non- Indigenous counterparts.

23. In 2014, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had higher crude notification rates for gonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia than non-Indigenous people.
In 2013, age-standardised rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis were 1.3 times higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander than non-Indigenous people.
In some remote communities, more than 70% of young children had scabies and pyoderma.

24. Nutrition
In , 54% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported eating an adequate amount of fruit but only 8% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported eating an adequate amount of vegetables.
In , on average, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people consumed 41% of their total daily energy in the form of discretionary foods.

25. Physical activity
In , 47% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults in non-remote areas met the target of 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days.
In , after age-adjustment, 61% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in non-remote areas reported that they were physically inactive, a similar level to that of non-Indigenous people.

26. Bodyweight
In , 66% of Indigenous adults were classified as overweight or obese; after age-adjustment, the level of obesity/ overweight was 1.2 times higher for Indigenous people than for non-Indigenous people.

27. Immunisation
In 2014, 93% of Indigenous children aged 5 years were fully immunised against the recommended vaccine-preventable diseases.

28. Breastfeeding
In 2010, breastfeeding initiation levels were similar among Indigenous and non-Indigenous mothers (87% and 90% respectively).

29. Tobacco use
In , 44% of Indigenous adults were current smokers; after age-adjustment, this proportion was 2.5 times higher than the proportion among non-Indigenous adults.
In 2011, 50% of Indigenous mothers reported smoking during pregnancy.

30. Alcohol use
In , 23% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults abstained from alcohol; this level was 1.6 times higher than among the non- Indigenous population.
In , after age-adjustment, lifetime drinking risk was similar for both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations. After age-adjustment, Indigenous males were hospitalised at 4.5 times and Indigenous females at 3.6 times the rates of their non- Indigenous counterparts for a principal diagnosis related to alcohol use.
In , the age-standardised death rates for alcohol-related deaths for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 4.9 times higher than those for their non-Indigenous people.

31. Illicit drug use
In , 22% of Indigenous adults reported that they had used an illicit substance in the previous 12 months.
In , the rate of drug-induced deaths was 1.5 times higher for Indigenous people than for non-Indigenous people.