Dementia has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in Australia as more people live longer, while being overweight has overtaken smoking tobacco as the leading risk factor contributing to disease burden.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released its 20th biennial report card on the nation's health today showing that overall Australians are living longer, but access to healthcare and overall disease burden is dotted with inequality and influenced by lifestyle as well as environmental factors.
One of the biggest challenges is mental health, particularly among young people aged 16-24 with a rate of 39 per cent in 2020-2022, compared 26 per cent in 2007. Overall there has been an increase of nine per cent in the rate of people receiving Medicare-subsidised mental health services, from 94 patients per 1000 people in 2015-16, to 102 patients per 1000 in 2024-25.
The good news is that people diagnosed with cancer are surviving longer than ever, with five-year survival rates increasing over time from 50 per cent to 72 per cent in the five years from 1987-1991 compared with 2017 to 2021.
We are living longer overall, with an average life expectancy at birth in 2022-2024 of 83 years, 81.1 years for males and 85.1 years for females, which is higher than the average for OECD countries of 81.1.
The report, Australia's Health 2026, reveals that in 2024, dementia accounted for almost one in ten deaths, increasing by 39 per cent of all deaths from 12,641 in 2015 to 16,326 deaths in 2024.
The top five disease groups causing the most disease burden were cancer (16 per cent), mental health conditions and substance use disorders (13 per cent), musculoskeletal conditions (13 per cent), cardiovascular disease (12 per cent), and neurological conditions (8.4 per cent).
Burden of disease measures the combined impact of illness and premature death (total or disease burden), by adding years lived in ill health (non-fatal burden) with years lost due to premature death (fatal burden).
Around a third of the nation's disease burden could be prevented or reduced by modifying risk and environmental factors such as being overweight or obese, tobacco use and e-cigarette use, the report says.
The Hunter region continues to have a higher rate of people in both of those categories when compared to the national or statewide average.
According to the latest statistics compiled by the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network by local government area, Muswellbrook is home to the highest proportion of vapers, at 5.9 per 100,000 people compared to the state average of 5.1.
Newcastle was the only Hunter local government area with a smoking rate lower than the state average of 11.6 per 100 adults, based on 2022 data, while Muswellbrook had the region's highest rate at 21.4 per 100.
The AIHW report notes that results from the 2025 National Drug Strategy Household Survey will be released in tranches in 2026, with the first to include high-level findings on tobacco, e-cigarette and nicotine use.
The Hunter region also has a higher incidence of cancer than the NSW average, at 555.2 cases per 100,000 people compared to 525.
The AIHW has previously reported that obesity is not only becoming more common, it is starting earlier and affecting more people over their lifetime, calling for a whole-of-system approach, including healthier environments and improved access to care.
Data for the Hunter New England region shows that 68.7 per cent of people 18 and over were obese or overweight, compared with 59.5 per cent in 2016 and 52.1 per cent in 2006, and compared to 67 across NSW.
Another area highlighted in the AIHW report was mental health which continues to affect many Australians and is on the rise among young people, increasing in those aged 16-24 from 26 per cent in 2007 to 39 per cent in 2020-2022.
The use of antidepressants has increased, with scripts increasing from 120 to 139 per 1,000 people between 2015-2016, while the use of psychostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics, has risen from six to 28 people per 1,000.
Cost, availability and wait times continue to be key barriers for people who need to visit GPs and dentists, with one in four people ( 27 per cent) reporting delaying their GP visit at least once or did not see a GP and one in 13 citing cost (7.7 per cent), up from 4.1 per cent in 2015-16.
While death rates overall have improved, differences across population groups show the effect of inequality.
After adjusting for age differences, in the 2022-2024 period, death rates were 1.5 times as high among those living in the lowest socioeconomic areas, compared with people in the highest socioeconomic areas (631 deaths and 418 deaths per 100,000, respectively).
