AUSTRALIANS have the world’s third longest life expectancy and we rank second in living fewer years in an unhealthy state before we die. A new international comparison finds only Iceland and Switzerland outrank us in longevity and healthy life span.
The Global Burden of Disease study released shows that although heart disease remains our biggest killer, it killed 32 per cent fewer people in 2010 than it did in 1990.
Alzheimers Disease, however, has rocketed up the rankings as a major killer, rising from 26th place as a cause of premature death in 1990 to ninth place in 2010.
Lung cancer has replaced stroke as the nation’s second biggest killer while deaths from road injury plunged 40 per cent between 1990 and 2010.
Educating parents about the risks of sudden infant death syndrome and how to avoid it has produced stunning results and it has fallen from 23rd to 45th as a cause of premature death.
The study looks not just at life expectancy, but also at diseases that cause disability.
It finds heart disease, low back pain and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the top three causes of both premature death and years lost to disability in Australia.
The top-five leading causes of years lived with a disability are low back pain, major depressive order, musculoskeletal disorders, neck pain and falls.
The international comparison is compiled by over 500 researchers in 50 countries and is co-ordinated by the University of Washington.