Life expectancy: Married men catch up with women
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,11702152,00.html
The Australian
16 December 2004
Married men catch up with women
By Natasha Robinson
They have consistently trailed behind women in life expectancy, but men are slowly but surely narrowing the gap - provided they are married.
Over the past 20 years, men have increased their lifespan by six years to an average age of 78, while women's life expectancy has improved by four years to 83.
The figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a huge difference between the death rates of married people against those who have never married, with single people almost twice as likely to die in any given year than their married counterparts.
But the statistical picture of longevity is radically different for Aborigines, with indigenous men dying almost 20 years earlier than non-Aboriginal men. An Aboriginal man can expect to live only to 58 years, while Aboriginal women live to an average of 65 years.
Men remain at significantly higher risk than women of committing suicide - and the outlook for Aboriginal men is particularly bleak.
Despite the rate of male suicide falling to its lowest point in a decade - a trend hailed as a victory by depression awareness advocates - men were still four times more likely than women to kill themselves.
The Northern Territory has a suicide rate 77 per cent higher than the rest of Australia, reflecting the higher suicide rate among the indigenous population there.
Beyondblue, the depression advocacy group, said the declining suicide rate, particularly among teenagers, was partly the result of the growing public awareness about major suicide risk factors such as depression.
"People are more likely to talk about issues than they used to be, so the stigma is reducing," said deputy chief executive Nicole Highett.
"As a result of reducing the stigma and increasing awareness, people are more likely to ultimately look at getting treatment," Dr Highett said.
The gains in life expectancy put Australians among the longest-living adults in the world, with only Hong Kong Chinese, Japanese and Swedes living longer.
State by state, Canberrans live the longest, at 79.4 years for men, while the Northern Territory registered the lowest life expectancy, at 68.2 years for men.
Outer Adelaide and Perth were next in line for the highest longevity, while men in Sydney and Melbourne could also expect to live longer.
Babies are less at risk of dying than ever before, with a drop of 50 per cent in the infant mortality from 1987 to the present day.
Cancer was the biggest killer, accounting for 28 per cent of all deaths across the nation in 2002. But despite this, overall deaths from cancer have fallen by 10 per cent in the past 10 years.
Aborigines are less likely to die of cancer, with a rate significantly below that of the non-Aboriginal population at 15 per cent of deaths.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11702152^2702,00.html
The Australian
16 December 2004
Married men catch up with women
By Natasha Robinson
They have consistently trailed behind women in life expectancy, but men are slowly but surely narrowing the gap - provided they are married.
Over the past 20 years, men have increased their lifespan by six years to an average age of 78, while women's life expectancy has improved by four years to 83.
The figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a huge difference between the death rates of married people against those who have never married, with single people almost twice as likely to die in any given year than their married counterparts.
But the statistical picture of longevity is radically different for Aborigines, with indigenous men dying almost 20 years earlier than non-Aboriginal men. An Aboriginal man can expect to live only to 58 years, while Aboriginal women live to an average of 65 years.
Men remain at significantly higher risk than women of committing suicide - and the outlook for Aboriginal men is particularly bleak.
Despite the rate of male suicide falling to its lowest point in a decade - a trend hailed as a victory by depression awareness advocates - men were still four times more likely than women to kill themselves.
The Northern Territory has a suicide rate 77 per cent higher than the rest of Australia, reflecting the higher suicide rate among the indigenous population there.
Beyondblue, the depression advocacy group, said the declining suicide rate, particularly among teenagers, was partly the result of the growing public awareness about major suicide risk factors such as depression.
"People are more likely to talk about issues than they used to be, so the stigma is reducing," said deputy chief executive Nicole Highett.
"As a result of reducing the stigma and increasing awareness, people are more likely to ultimately look at getting treatment," Dr Highett said.
The gains in life expectancy put Australians among the longest-living adults in the world, with only Hong Kong Chinese, Japanese and Swedes living longer.
State by state, Canberrans live the longest, at 79.4 years for men, while the Northern Territory registered the lowest life expectancy, at 68.2 years for men.
Outer Adelaide and Perth were next in line for the highest longevity, while men in Sydney and Melbourne could also expect to live longer.
Babies are less at risk of dying than ever before, with a drop of 50 per cent in the infant mortality from 1987 to the present day.
Cancer was the biggest killer, accounting for 28 per cent of all deaths across the nation in 2002. But despite this, overall deaths from cancer have fallen by 10 per cent in the past 10 years.
Aborigines are less likely to die of cancer, with a rate significantly below that of the non-Aboriginal population at 15 per cent of deaths.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11702152^2702,00.html
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