Indigenous mortality: Placing Australian aboriginal mortality within a broader context

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether contemporary Australian Aboriginal mortality patterns are different from those exhibited by Canadian Registered Indians, New Zealand Maoris, and American Indians and Alaskan natives. Data on Australian Aborigines were procured from published studies conducted in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia; while data on Canadian Registered Indians, New Zealand Maoris, and American Indians and Alaskan natives were obtained respectively from unpublished tables produced by Health and Welfare Canada, the National Health Statistics Centre, and the Indian Health Service. Mortality patterns were compared by evaluating differences in life expectancy and in age- and cause-specific patterns of death. This analysis demonstrates that although Australian Aborigines, Canadian Registered Indians, New Zealand Maoris, and American Indians and Alaskan natives have similar patterns of high adult mortality, Australian Aborigines are generally characterized by lower life expectancies at birth and higher age- and cause-specific death rates. Overall, these findings suggest that the mortality patterns of Australian Aborigines are strikingly different from those exhibited by the other three indigenous populations and that existing information on risk, psychosocial, and genetic factors does not really explain why Australian Aborigines as compared to these other indigenous groups have such high rates of death and low life expectancy.