3303.0.55.001 - Causes of Death, Australia: Doctor Certified Deaths, Summary Tables, 2008 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/11/2009   
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SUMMARY

All deaths registered in 2008 have been coded using the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) as released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Causes of death statistics in Australia are recorded as both underlying cause i.e. the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death; and multiple cause i.e. all causes and conditions reported on the death certificate that contributed, were associated or was the underlying cause of the death (see Glossary for further details). Only underlying cause of death is presented in this publication. Information on multiple cause of death will be included in Causes of Death, Australia (cat. no. 3303.0).

Table 1 presents summary data for causes of death for each major chapter of the ICD-10 for doctor certified deaths.

1 Selected Underlying Causes of Death - 2007 and 2008(a)(b)(c)

2007
2008
Total deaths(c)
Doctor certified deaths
Doctor certified deaths as proportion of total deaths
Doctor certified deaths as proportion of deaths by cause(c)
Doctor certified deaths
Doctor certified deaths as proportion of total deaths
Cause of death and ICD-10 code
no.
no.
%
%
no.
%

Infectious diseases (A00-B99)
1 858
1 759
1.3
94.7
1 829
1.3
Cancer (C00-D48)
40 287
39 652
28.8
98.4
41 596
28.9
Blood and immunity disorders (D50-D89)
479
451
0.3
94.2
470
0.3
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)
5 355
5 048
3.7
94.3
5 567
3.9
Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)
5 715
5 479
4.0
95.9
6 073
4.2
Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99)
5 467
5 186
3.8
94.9
5 654
3.9
Diseases of the eye and ear (H00-H95)
8
5
-
62.5
10
-
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels (I00-I99)
46 626
40 573
29.4
87.0
41 694
29.0
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)
11 577
10 940
7.9
94.5
10 547
7.3
Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93)
4 760
4 171
3.0
87.6
4 239
2.9
Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99)
362
349
0.3
96.4
381
0.3
Diseases of the muscles, bones and tendons (M00-M99)
1 091
1 033
0.7
94.7
1 086
0.8
Diseases of the kidney and urinary system (N00-N99)
3 324
3 235
2.3
97.3
3 193
2.2
Pregnancy and childbirth O00-O99)
5
-
-
-
1
-
Conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)
578
541
0.4
93.6
534
0.4
Congenital and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
574
501
0.4
87.3
505
0.4
Ill-defined causes (R00-R99)
1 895
631
0.5
33.3
378
0.3
External causes (V01-Y98)
7 893
1 449
1.1
18.4
1 521
1.1
Total doctor certified deaths
. .
121 003
87.8
. .
125 278
87.0
Total coroner certified deaths
. .
16 851
12.2
. .
18 668
13.0
Total deaths
137 854
137 854
100
100
143 946
100

. . not applicable
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Data for 2007 deaths have been updated after the processing of 2007 coroner certified deaths. See Explanatory Note 38 for further information.
(b) Data cells with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components. It is important to note that cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentialisation.
(c) 2008 total deaths by cause are unavailable because the number of 2008 coroner certified deaths by ICD-10 code are not final. As a result, 2008 doctor certified deaths as a proportion of total deaths by cause are also unavailable


The following section presents information about those causes with a high proportion of doctor certified deaths. Care should be taken in interpreting these results as they exclude any deaths which have been referred to a coroner for investigation.

Table 2 presents number of doctor certified causes of death and percentage change for 2007 and 2008.

2 Doctor Certified Deaths by Cause of Death - 2007 and 2008(a)

2007(b)
2008
Percentage change
Cause of death and ICD-10 code  
no.
no.
%

Infectious diseases (A00-B99)  
1 759
1 829
4.0
Cancer (C00-D48)  
39 652
41 596
4.9
Blood and immunity disorders (D50-D89)  
451
470
4.2
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)  
5 048
5 567
10.3
Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)  
5 479
6 073
10.8
Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99)  
5 186
5 654
9.0
Diseases of the eye and ear (H00-H95)
5
10
100.0
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels (I00-I99)  
40 573
41 694
2.8
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)  
10 940
10 547
-3.6
Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93)  
4 171
4 239
1.6
Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99)  
349
381
9.2
Diseases of the muscles, bones and tendons (M00-M99)  
1 033
1 086
5.1
Diseases of the kidney and urinary system (N00-N99)  
3 235
3 193
-1.3
Pregnancy and childbirth O00-O99)
-
1
-
Conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)  
541
534
-1.3
Congenital and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)  
501
505
0.8
Ill-defined causes (R00-R99)  
631
378
-40.1
External causes (V01-Y98)
1 449
1 521
5.0
Total doctor certified deaths
121 003
125 278
3.5

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Data cells with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components. It is important to note that cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentisation.
(b) Data for 2007 deaths have been updated after the processing of 2007 coroner certified deaths. See Explanatory Note 38 for further information.








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