YEAR OF OCCURRENCE
Introduction
Information contained in the preceding chapters of this publication refers to deaths registered during the 2007 calendar year. In this chapter, death statistics are based on year of occurrence, which is the year in which the death actually occurred, rather than the year it was registered.
Although some deaths can be registered many years after their date of occurrence, the international standard for publishing on a year of occurrence basis is to include deaths registered within the relevant occurrence year and the year immediately following.
Accordingly, this practice has been adopted for the presentation of year of occurrence data in this publication to facilitate international comparisons. Analysis of deaths in Australia has shown that the number of deaths registered after the second year is not significant.
Year of occurrence data allow for seasonal analysis, and data are not distorted by the effects of late registrations or changes in time lags in processing registrations. In those countries where registration systems are complete and timely, there is not a significant difference between the number of deaths derived on a registration basis and those on a year of occurrence basis.
For Australia, approximately 95% of deaths registered in a particular year occurred in that year. However, variations can occur in certain subsets of the population and for particular causes of death. For instance, while 95% of the total 133,739 deaths registered in 2006 occurred in the same year, only 88% of the 2,279 Indigenous deaths and 93% of deaths due to External causes registered in 2006 occurred in that year. More detailed data for specific causes or population groups are available from the ABS on request.
Datacubes
More detailed data by year of occurrence is included in the datacubes associated with this publication. This includes all causes at the 3-digit level of ICD-10.
Comparison of Year of Occurrence and Year of Registration data for 2006
The following table shows the number of deaths occurring in 2006 and registered in either 2006 or 2007. As seen in this table, 12% of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people occurring in 2006 (and registered in either 2006 or 2007) were registered late, in 2007. This compared with 4.9% for the total population.
7.1 SELECTED CAUSES, 2006 Year of Occurrence |
|
 | Registration Years | | |
| 2006(a) | 2007 (b)(c) | Total as at 2007(d) | Late Registrations |
| Cause of death and ICD code | no. | no. | no. | % |
INDIGENOUS |
|
| All Causes | 1 979 | 276 | 2 255 | 12.2 |
TOTAL |
|
| All Causes | 127 634 | 6 638 | 134 272 | 4.9 |
| Infectious diseases (A00-B99) | 1 868 | 120 | 1 988 | 6.0 |
| Cancer (C00-D48) | 38 022 | 1 838 | 39 860 | 4.6 |
| Blood and immunity disorders (D50-D89) | 468 | 23 | 491 | 4.7 |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90) | 4 894 | 221 | 5 115 | 4.3 |
| Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99) | 4 916 | 196 | 5 112 | 3.8 |
| Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99) | 4 682 | 217 | 4 899 | 4.4 |
| Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59) | 4 | - | 4 | - |
| Diseases of the ear and mastoid process (H60-H95) | 7 | - | 7 | - |
| Diseases of the heart and blood vessels (I00-I99) | 43 670 | 2 206 | 45 876 | 4.8 |
| Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99) | 10 451 | 579 | 11 030 | 5.2 |
| Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93) | 4 290 | 246 | 4 536 | 5.4 |
| Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99) | 312 | 11 | 323 | 3.4 |
| Diseases of the muscles, bones, and tendons (M00-M99) | 1 025 | 41 | 1 066 | 3.8 |
| Diseases of the kidney, urinary system and genitals (N00-N99) | 3 172 | 155 | 3 327 | 4.7 |
| Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O99) | 9 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 |
| Conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96) | 588 | 66 | 654 | 10.1 |
| Congenital and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99) | 511 | 46 | 557 | 8.3 |
| Ill-defined causes (R00-R99) | 1 430 | 146 | 1 576 | 9.3 |
| External causes (V01-Y98) | 7 315 | 526 | 7 841 | 6.7 |
|
| - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
| (a) Deaths occurring in 2006, registered in 2006. |
| (b) Deaths occurring in 2006, registered in 2007. |
| (c) Cause of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information. |
| (d) Deaths occurring in 2006 and registered in 2006 or 2007 |
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