Alcohol-Attributable Death and Burden of Illness among Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Populations in Remote Australia, 2014–2018

Renu Unnikrishnan, Yuejen Zhao (), Ramakrishna Chondur and Paul Burgess
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Renu Unnikrishnan: Health Statistics & Informatics, Department of Health, Darwin, NT 0800, Australia
Yuejen Zhao: Health Statistics & Informatics, Department of Health, Darwin, NT 0800, Australia
Ramakrishna Chondur: Health Statistics & Informatics, Department of Health, Darwin, NT 0800, Australia
Paul Burgess: Health Statistics & Informatics, Department of Health, Darwin, NT 0800, Australia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 22, 1-10

Abstract: Harmful use of alcohol is a problem in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. The aim of this study was to assess and compare alcohol-attributable deaths and the contribution of alcohol to the burden of disease and injury (BOD) among the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the NT between 2014 and 2018. The alcohol-use data for adults aged 15+ years old in the NT population was taken from the 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey. BOD was measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALY) as part of the NT BOD study. Population-attributable fractions were derived to analyse deaths and BOD. Between 2014 and 2018, 673 Aboriginal and 392 non-Aboriginal people died of harmful use of alcohol, accounting for 26.3% and 12.9% of the total deaths in the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population, respectively. Alcohol caused 38,596 and 15,433 DALY (19.9% and 10.2% of the total), respectively, in the NT Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population for the same period. The alcohol-attributable DALY rate in the Aboriginal population was 10,444.6 per 100,000 persons, six times the non-Aboriginal rate. This study highlights the urgent need to reduce harmful alcohol use in the NT, which disproportionately affects Aboriginal peoples in rural and remote areas.

Keywords: alcohol-attributable deaths; alcohol-attributable disability-adjusted life years; northern territory; aboriginal health; burden of disease and injury (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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