The relative socioeconomic disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared with non-Indigenous people places them at greater risk of exposure to behavioural and environmental health risk factors.
In 2002, about half (49%) of the Indigenous population aged 15 years or over smoked on a daily basis. One in six (15%) reported consuming alcohol at risky or high risk levels in the last 12 months and just over half (51%) had not participated in sport or physical recreation activities during this period. One-quarter (24%) of Indigenous people living in non-remote areas reported having used illicit substances in the 12 months prior to interview and 40% reported having tried at least one illicit drug in their lifetime. With the exception of substance use, these behavioural risk factors were associated with poorer self-assessed health among Indigenous people in 2002.
In 2002, about eight in ten (82%) Indigenous people reported experiencing at least one life stressor in the last 12 months and nearly one-quarter (24%) reported being a victim of physical or threatened violence during this period. Higher rates of fair or poor health and health risk behaviour were reported among Indigenous people who had been exposed to these environmental risk factors. Indigenous people who had been removed from their natural families as children also reported poorer health outcomes in comparison with those who were not removed from their families.
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