Deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases have become uncommon among non-Indigenous Australians, with lifestyle disorders now becoming the major contributors to death. Most deaths now occur in the later years of life. The decline in death rates in Australia during the last three decades has been due largely to a reduction in deaths from cardiovascular diseases. This report examines the mortality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from 1985 to 1994. Death rates are examined in both absolute and relative terms.
Absolute change is indicated in the presentation of trends over time.
Both absolute and relative changes are important, but they measure different aspects of mortality. An increase in the SMR could, for example, occur because of an increase in the Indigenous death rate or because of a decrease in the non-Indigenous death rate. A falling death rate for the Indigenous population could signify improvement in absolute terms, yet if the decline were not as steep as for the non-Indigenous population, then there would be a worsening in relative terms. It is worth noting that death rates may not be sensitive in the short term to some changes in health, especially subtle ones. That is, changes for the better now may not result in falling death rates for some years to come because of already established chronic disease which will play itself out over time.