Chronic conditions on the rise among Indigenous people
Almost half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a chronic health condition, with those living in remote areas more likely to be affected, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, released on Tuesday, found 49 per cent of Indigenous people had one or more chronic conditions in 2022-23, up from 46 per cent in 2018-19.
“The increase was driven by (a jump) in the proportion of people aged two years and over with mental and behavioural conditions – up from 24 per cent in 2018-19 to 29 per cent in 2022-23,” a bureau spokesperson said.
About a third of people (31 per cent) aged 18 and older living in cities and regional areas experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress in the four weeks before the survey, compared to 24 per cent of people in remote areas.
About a quarter (27 per cent) of people aged 15 and older had accessed mental health services in the past 12 months.
The data included a new module on food security, which found 41 per cent of households experienced food insecurity due to not having enough money for groceries in the 12 months before the survey.
In remote areas 51 per cent of households had experienced food insecurity, compared to 40 per cent in regional and city households.
While renters were twice as likely to experience food insecurity (55 per cent) than those who owned a home (21 per cent).
Smoking rates had declined, with less than a third of people 15 years and older smoking daily, compared to 37 per cent in 2018-19.
“The decrease in current daily smokers aged 15 years and over is driven by a decrease in … smokers in non-remote areas (from 35 per cent to 26 per cent),” the bureau spokesperson said.
The number of smokers in remote areas remained steady.
“There has also been an increase in the proportion of people aged 15 years and over who have never smoked (up from 37 per cent in 2018-19 to 43 per cent in 2022-23), which indicates fewer people are initiating smoking,” the spokesperson said.
Eight per cent of people aged 15 and over said they used e-cigarettes or vaping devices.
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