Report of the New South Wales Chief Health Officer, 1997

Graphic: Socioeconomic Status - Deaths from injury and poisoning
Note: Rates are for persons aged 15-64 years at death. Death rates were directly age-adjusted using the standard Australian population as at 30 June 1991. Injury and poisoning were classified according to the ICD9-CM codes: E800-869, E880-929, E950-999. SEIFA index of socioeconomic disadvantage used 1991 Census data. Higher scores indicate higher economic status.
Abbreviations: SEIFA: socioeconomic index for area, LGA: Local Government Area.
Source:ABS census data, mortality data and population estimates (HOIST), Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, NSW Health Department.
 This graph summarises the association between premature death from all injuries and poisoning and index of socioeconomic disadvantage. The method used to examine this association is described elsewhere.

Injury is defined as ‘bodily harm resulting from some external force or energy acting on a person’; this includes intentional (self-inflicted or inflicted by others) and unintentional (accidental) injuries. The most common causes of premature death due to injury are suicides and road vehicle accidents.

There was a negative correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient r=-0.32, p<0.0001, n=177 LGAs) between injury death rates and SEIFA score, although somewhat weaker than that for cardiovascular diseases. This association has also been reported nationally, for overall injuries and more specifically road traffic accidents and suicides (Harrison et al. 1994; Mathers 1994).

The mechanism whereby people from areas with low socioeconomic status (SES) experience higher injury death rates is likely to be complex and multifactorial. To understand this association, variation in risk exposures with SES levels needs to be studied, using individual data and record linkage if possible, rather than aggregate data.

References:Harrison JE and Cripps RA (eds), Injury in Australia. An epidemiological review, AIHW, AGPS, Canberra, 1994.
Mathers C, Health differentials among adult Australians aged 25-64 years, Health monitoring series no. 1, AIHW, AGPS, Canberra, 1994.
Produced by Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Public Health Division, New South Wales Health Department on 24 March 1998.