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Mortality from aortic aneurysms in Australia, 1968 to 1997
1Port Adelaide Community Health Service, South Australia. plake@health.on.net
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
|April 12, 2001
Summary
Aortic aneurysm mortality in Australia remained stable until 1992, then declined. While abdominal aortic aneurysm deaths rose, likely due to better coding, unspecified aortic aneurysm mortality decreased significantly.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular epidemiology
- Public health surveillance
Background:
- Aortic aneurysms represent a significant cause of mortality.
- Understanding temporal trends in aortic aneurysm mortality is crucial for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe mortality trends for aortic aneurysms in Australia between 1968 and 1997.
- To analyze trends across different types of aortic aneurysms.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive study analyzing time trends in mortality rates.
- Age-sex-standardised mortality rates were calculated.
- Negative-binomial regression was used for statistical trend analysis.
Main Results:
- Overall aortic aneurysm mortality was stable from 1968-1992, followed by a significant decrease by 1997.
- Mortality rates for abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms increased.
- Mortality rates for dissecting aortic aneurysms decreased, with a notable decline in unspecified aortic aneurysms.
Conclusions:
- Aortic aneurysm mortality in Australia has recently declined.
- The decline's reasons are not fully understood.
- Increased abdominal aortic aneurysm mortality may reflect improved diagnostic coding rather than a true rise.