Key Facts

Chronic Disease

According to the Queensland Chief Health Officer’s report on chronic disease, around 3 million Queenslanders live with a chronic condition. That’s 70% of our population.

Every year, 22,000 people in Queensland die from a chronic illness such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis and coronary heart disease.

Cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure affect almost one in five Queenslanders, approximately 770,000 people. The two biggest killers in Queensland are cancers and cardiovascular disease. In fact, cardiovascular diseases are the biggest killers in the world.

The estimated cost of cardiovascular disease in Queensland is about $32 billion, including treatment and wellbeing costs. In 2005, 35% of deaths Australia-wide were due to cardiovascular disease.

Almost 4% of Queenslanders have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the name for emphysema and chronic bronchitis. COPD is often related to smoking and more likely to develop as people get older.  Although many cases go undiagnosed, it’s believed there are about 2.1 million people throughout Australia with COPD. That’s one in five people over 40 years old.

In 2006, nearly 10,000 people were admitted to Queensland hospitals with COPD. The condition was the cause of 4% of avoidable premature deaths in Queensland in 2005-06.

Around 2.2 million people in Australia have asthma, and about 300-400 people die nationally each year. In Queensland, 10% of adults have asthma and about one in 7 children. More than 5660 Queenslanders were hospitalised in 2006-07 for asthma. Indigenous Australians are more likely to develop asthma than non-Indigenous Australians.

The most life threatening genetic disorder for Caucasians in Australia is cystic fibrosis. One in 25 people will carry the gene without symptoms and may pass it to a child. One in 2500 babies in Australia will be born with cystic fibrosis. There is no cure.

Cancer

Although it is the fifth most common cancer in Australia, lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer deaths in Australia and across the world. Overall, it is the third biggest killer in Australia.

Each year in Australia, about 8200 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed and more than 7000 people with lung cancer die. In Queensland, there are 12 - 15 new lung cancer cases each week.

Mental health

Worldwide about 120 million people are affected by depression. Mental disorders such as depression are among the 20 leading causes of disability worldwide.

In Australia, it’s estimated that one in five people will experience a mental illness at some point. During 2004-05, around 13% of Queenslanders reported they experienced a long term mental illness, such as depression, anxiety and insomnia. For young people, anxiety and depression is the leading cause of disability and premature death.
People with a chronic illness are twice as likely to experience a mental health problem than those without chronic disease.

References:

Report of the Chief Health Officer, The Health of Queenslanders 2008: Prevention of Chronic Disease
World Health Organization, 10 Facts on the Global Burden of Disease
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia’s Health 2008
Australian Lung Foundation (www.lungnet.org.au)
The Cancer Council Australia (www.cancer.org.au)