Deaths

Study using previously published predictions for all sources PM2.5 and NO2 and models to estimate traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in 2015.

Results:

• an estimated 3684 (95 % CI, 3051–4350) premature deaths were attributable to air pollution from all sources
• 51 % (95 % CI, 19 %–86 %) of these (more than 1,800 premature deaths) were linked to TRAP.

These estimates are lower than previous estimates of 11,000 annual deaths from TRAP by the University of Melbourne (2023) although this study was not peer-reviewed and published.

Conclusion: Air pollution remains a significant contributor to mortality in Australia. Reducing exposure, particularly from TRAP, could yield substantial public health benefits. Policies promoting cleaner transport modes offer a promising avenue for rapid improvement.

In 2024, there were 478 deaths with asthma as underlying cause in Australia, including 322 females and 156 males (see table below) (ref 1):
* Asthma deaths were nearly identical to the previous year (480 deaths in 2023; 329 females and 151 males)*** (ref 1), with a return to pre-pandemic level after seeing a reduction in 2021 due to pandemic measures resulting in fewer respiratory infections (ref 1, 2)
* However, over the last 35 years, asthma deaths have halved, from 964 deaths in 1989 (ref 2)

Deaths increased by 28% in males aged 75+ since 2023 (18% of all deaths) (ref 3)

Deaths increased by 16% for females aged 75+ (50% of all deaths) (ref 3)

*** Note that ABS numbers were updated in this release for previous years with 480 deaths in 2023 and 474 deaths in 2022, compared to 474 deaths in 2023 according to previous ABS release and Asthma Australia infographic.

The age-standardised death rate in 2024 was 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people (1.5 for females and 0.9 for males) which remains similar to before the pandemic. (ref 1)

There were 3,864 years of potential life lost due to asthma in 2024 (1,964 years in males and 1,847 years in females). (ref 1)

Looking at asthma as a contributing factor at death (not underlying/principal cause of death), there were 2,395 deaths in 2024 in which asthma was a contributing factor (1,475 females and 920 males) (ref 1)

Asthma deaths by state/territory and sex 2023 (ref 1)

Graphs from NAC infographic (ref 3):

AIHW data shows that in 2023, asthma was the 19th leading cause of potentially avoidable deaths for females aged under 75, with 119 deaths or 0.5% of all deaths (crude mortality rate 1.0 per 100,000; ages standardised mortality rate 0.8 per 100,000).

The leading cause for females was breast cancer with 1,667 deaths or 7.4% of all deaths (crude rate 13.6; age standardised rate 13.6 per 100,000).

Asthma was not listed in the top 20 leading causes of potentially avoidable deaths for males, nor for males and females combined.

Potentially avoidable deaths are deaths among people younger than 75 due to conditions that could have been prevented within the present health care system, through individualised care and/or treatable through existing primary or hospital care. Potentially avoidable deaths serve as an indicator of the health of Australians and the performance of the healthcare system

In 2023, there were 474 deaths with asthma as underlying cause in Australia, including 325 females and 149 males (see table below) (ref 1):
* Women over 75 are the most at risk, with 43% of asthma deaths in this age group in 2023 (Ref 2,3)
* Asthma deaths were nearly identical to last year, with a return to pre-pandemic level after seeing a reduction in 2021 due to pandemic measures resulting in fewer respiratory infections (ref 3)
* However, over the last 35 years, asthma deaths have halved, from 964 deaths in 1989 (ref 3)

The age-standardised death rate in 2023 was 1.4 deaths per 100,000 people (1.7 for females and 1.0 for males) which remains similar to before the pandemic. (ref 1)

Asthma deaths by state/territory and sex 2023 (ref 1)

NAC infographic (ref 2)

According the AIHW Asthma webpage updated on 17 Feb 2026:(ref 4)

480 people died from asthma (underlying cause) in 2023, with a death rate (not adjusted for age) of 1.8 deaths per 100,000 population.

Mortality rates:

• increased with age (highest in people 75+ at 13.2 per 100,000)
• was higher in females vs males, with a difference more pronounced in people 75+
• changed little over time
• was 3.4 times higher in First Nations people after adjusting for age (31 deaths in 2023, crude rate 3 per 100,000)

Research estimates that wood heater smoke in Australia is linked to 558-1555 earlier than expected deaths each year, and halving the number of wood heaters in Australia would create health benefits of between $AUD 1.61 billion to $AUD 1.93 billion per year.

Note: The data visualisation tool in this study shows estimated wood heater pollution-related health impacts across Australia. Using this tool you can explore the estimates by State/Territory, by Greater Capital City Statistical Area, or by Statistical Area Level 4. The tool also enables you to select what estimates to display: wood heater emissions (WHE) (kg/year), population-weighted WHE-fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations, the number of earlier than expected deaths, or deaths per 100,000 people.

The Visualisation tool can be accessed at https://safeair.org.au/data-visualisation-wood-heater-pollution-mortality-in-australia/

Wood heater emissions (2015)

Earlier than expected deaths due to wood heater emissions (2015)

Earlier than expected deaths per 100,000 people due to wood heater emissions (2015)

In 2022, there were 467 deaths with asthma as underlying cause. Compared to previous years, there was:
Number of deaths:
– a 31.5% increase in number of deaths compared to 2021 (355 deaths), as 2021 saw a reduction in deaths due to COVID public health measures resulting in fewer respiratory infections and asthma flare-ups. Asthma flare-ups have now returned to pre-pandemic levels. (Ref 1, 2,3)
– compared to the average number of deaths before the pandemic (2016 to 2019), 2022 saw a 6% increase in asthma deaths (Ref 1)
– important variations between states: QLD and SA sawg more than 80% increase compared to 2021, and 21% and 15% increase respectively compared to pre-pandemic average (2016-2019); WA saw a 19% increase compared to pre-pandemic years (2016-19);
NSW saw a small increase (6%) compared to 2021, and 9% decrease compared to before the pandemic (2016-19) (ref 1; see table on right side)

Age-standardised death rates (better indicator for trends over time): Ref 4
– At 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people, the asthma death rate in 2022 was 30% higher than in 2021, however it remained similar compared to before the pandemic (2018-2019), but higher than in 2021 (1.0 per 100,000)
– variations by jurisdictions: SA fared the worse with 1.8 deaths per 100,000 people, a 80% increase compared to 2021 and a 16% increase compared to before the pandemic (2018-19), followed by QLD with 13% increase compared to 2018-19. NSW and VIC saw a decrease in death rates compared to before the pandemic, at 10% and 4% decrease respectively.

See AA internal presentation: https://asthmafoundation.sharepoint.com/:p:/s/RPA/EZFxO08aJJ5JgIz0I2II7CUBYMjuh8vZDgrccUJDgEQIxg?e=4bgUsl

Asthma Deaths 2022 compared to previous years, National and by jurisdiction

Asthma Deaths rates (age standardised) 2022 compared to previous years, National and by jurisdiction

Revised data (published by ABS in 2024, updated in library 13 Nov 2024):
In 2022, there were 473 deaths with asthma as underlying cause of death, including 303 females and 170 males. (ref 5)

Data published in 2023:

In 2022, there were 467 deaths with asthma as underlying cause in Australia, including 299 females and 168 males (see table below) (ref 1):
* Women over 75 are the most at risk, with 45% of asthma deaths in this age group in 2022 (Ref 2,3)
* Asthma deaths in males was the highest in the last 10 years, up from 109 in 2021 to 168 in 2022 (Ref 2).
* The mortality rate for respiratory conditions in 2022 was 42.5 per 100,000, an increase by 8.4% compared to 2021, but remaining lower than before 2020. (ref 4)

The age-standardised death rate in 2022 was 1.3 deaths per 100,000,(ref 1) which remains similar to before the pandemic.

Asthma mortality by state/territory and sex in 2022 (ref 1)

See Infographic below from NAC (Ref 3). Note that this compares 2022 to 2021 ONLY, when respiratory infections and asthma flare-ups had decreased markedly due to COVID public health measures.

AIHW report providing summary of epidemiological data in First Nations peoples with asthma (prevalence, risk factors, quality of life, burden of disease, mortality, hospitalisations, ED). This report provides a nice summary and a single reference.

Prevalence (2018-2019 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health survey (NATSIHS):
– Around 128,000 First Nations people reported having asthma (16%), down from 18% in 2012-13, making asthma the third most prevalent long-term condition reported in 2018-19.
– higher in females (18%) compared to males (13%)
– increased with age, from 12% in children aged 0–14 to 26% in those aged 55 and over
– 1.6 times as high for boys compared with girls (aged 0–14) (14% and 8.6%, respectively)
– 2.1 times as high for females compared with males aged 55 and over (34% and 16%, respectively)
– 1.6 times higher in First Nations people compared to non-Indigenous Australians after adjusting for age structure (18% and 11% age-standardised prevalence respectively)
– Prevalence decreased with increasing remoteness: 19% in Major Cities, 12% in Remote areas and 7% in Very remote areas
– Prevalence by states: 25% in ACT, 23% in SA, 22% in TAS, 19% in NSW, 18% in VIC, 14% in QLD, 13% in WA, 6% in NT

Hospitalisation rates (2021-2022):
– 1,800 hospitalisations with asthma as principal diagnosis in 2021-22 (Covid pandemic year), an hospitalisation rate of 200 per 100,000; a decrease by 30% compared to 2018-19 (non Covid-pandemic year; 290 per 100,000)
– highest for females aged 45–54 (469 per 100,000) and higher for females overall compared to males (250 vs 155 per 100,000)
– 1.8 times higher for boys compared to girls aged 0-14 (318 vs 173 per 100,000)
– 2.1 times higher in First Nations people compared to non-Indigenous Australians after adjusting for age structure (205 vs 100 per 100,000, age-adjusted)

Emergency Departments visits (2021-2022 Non-admitted Patient Emergency Department Care database):
– 5,400 ED presentations for asthma in 2021-22 (605 per 100,000 population, decreased by 14% compared to 700 per 100,000 in 2018-19)
– Highest for females 35-44 (1,063 per 100,000) then females 45-54 (1,014 per 100,000) then boys 0-14 (883 per 100,000)
– 1.6 times higher in boys vs gilrs aged 0-14 (883 vs 558 per 100,000)
– 1.4 times higher in females vs males overall (about 710 vs 500 per 100,000)
– 2.6 times higher in First Nations people compared to non-Indigenous Australians after adjusting for age structure (about 600 vs 230 per 100,000; age-standardised)

Mortality (2017-2021):
– 65 deaths over the 5 years, corresponding to a mortality rate of 1.7 deaths per 100,000 population (decreasing from 2.1 per 100,000 in 2015-2019)
– Mortality rate increases with age and is 1.6 times higher in females
– Mortality rates adjusted for age structure are 1.9 times higher in First Nations people compared to non-Indigenous Australians

Burden of Disease (Australian Burden of Disease Study 2018):
– 7th leading cause of disease burden in First Nations people, contributing 3.4% to the total burden
– Burden of asthma is greater in females (4.3%) compared to males (2.5%)
– 4th leading cause of non-fatal disease burden (5.7% of total non-fatal burden)

Risk factors for First Nations people with asthma compared to those without asthma (2018–2019 NATSIHS):
– Similar likelihood to be a current daily smoker (43% vs 40%)
– More likely to be insufficiently active (93% vs 87%)
– 1.3 times more likely to live with obesity (55% vs 43%)

Quality of life (2018–2019 NATSIHS) for adult First nations people with asthma compared to those without asthma:
– 2.5 times more likely to have poor health (18% vs 7.2%)
– 1.5 times more likely to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress (42% vs 28%)
– 62% had at least one other chronic condition – the top 3 comorbidities were arthritis (51%), mental and behavioural conditions (46%), and back problems (37%)

Asthma Management in First Nations people with asthma (2018–2019 NATSIHS):
– 56% reported using asthma medication within the last 2 weeks
– 32% had a written asthma action plan (32% of those in non-remote areas vs 27% of those in remote areas)

Over the 5-year period 2017-2021 (including years of COVID-pandemic measures), there were:
– 65 deaths due to asthma in First Nations people, corresponding to a mortality rate of 1.7 deaths per 100,000 population (decreasing from 2.1 per 100,000 in 2015-19)
– Mortality rate increases with age and is 1.6 times higher in females
– After adjusting for age, First Nations people were 1.9 times more likely to die due to asthma compared to non-Indigenous Australians

In 2018, almost two-thirds (64%) of the fatal burden among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people was classified as avoidable (preventable), compared to 54% in non-Indigenous Australians.
There were:
– 486 AYLL (avoidable years of life lost) (1.2 AYLL per 1,000 population) due to asthma in females under 75
– 303 AYLL (0.7 per 1,000) due to asthma in males under 75
– 789 AYLL (1.0 per 1,000) due to asthma in persons under 75
You can find further details (e.g. the stats per age group) in the data download on the AIHW website.

Over the 3 years period of 2019 to 2021, asthma was:
– the 18th leading cause of death for children aged 1-14 (16 deaths; 1.3% of all deaths; 0.1 deaths per 100,000 children of that age)
– the 19th leading cause of death for boys aged 1-14 (8 deaths; 1.1% of all deaths; 0.1 deaths per 100,000 boys of that age)
– the 16th leading cause of death for girls aged 1-14 (8 deaths; 1.5% of all deaths; 0.1 deaths per 100,000 girls of that age)

– the 19th leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 (18 deaths; 0.5% of all deaths; 0.2 deaths per 100,000 children of that age)
– not in the top 20 leading causes of death for boys aged 15-24
– the 16th leading cause of death for girls aged 15-24 (10 deaths; 1.0% of all deaths; 0.2 deaths per 100,000 girls of that age)

Most common associated causes of deaths for asthma during 2019-2021:
– ranking first: Influenza and/or pneumonia were associated with 25% of deaths due to asthma
– ranking second: COPD was associated with 23% of deaths due to asthma
– ranking third: heart failure and complications and ill-defined heart disease, associated with 20% of deaths due to asthma

The age-standardised mortality rate due to asthma among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 2.5 times as high as among other Australians in 2015-2019 (3.7 compared with 1.5 per 100,000 population over the 2015-2019 period). By gender, it was 2.7 vs 1.1 per 1,000 (2.5 times higher) in males, and 4.4 vs 1.8 per 1,000 (2.4 times higher) in females.
Note: the deaths were reported in NSW, QLD, WA, SA and NT only as these jurisdictions had adequate levels of Indigenous identification in mortality data.

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 351 deaths ( 107 males, 244 females) due to asthma in Australia, with an age-standardised death rate of 1.0 per 100,000 population (0.7 for males, 1.3 for females).
There were 2941 years of potential life lost.

By state and territories, there were: 136 deaths in NSW, 78 deaths in VIC, 51 deaths in QLD, 26 deaths in SA, 34 deaths in WA, 12 deaths in TAS, 6 deaths in NT, 8 deaths in ACT.

The mortality rate for respiratory diseases was 39.1 per 100,000, the second lowest on record after 2020. The influenza mortality rate was the lowest on record, with only 2 people dying from the flu.

The age-standardised mortality rate due to asthma among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 2.2 times as high as among other Australians in 2014-2018 (3.4 compared with 1.5 per 100,000 population).

Certain populations have a higher mortality rate, including:
– people residing in outer regional, remote and very remote areas, compared to major cities and inner regional areas
– people residing in the lowest socioeconomic area compared to highest socioeconomic areas
– Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to non-indigenous Australians (2.2x as high as non-indigenous in the 2014-2018 period)

In 2020 there were 417 deaths ( 143 males, 274 females) due to asthma in Australia, with an age-standardised rate of 1.3 per 100,000 population.(ref 1)
Approximately 400 people die each year due to asthma. (ref 1, 2, 3)

In 2019 there were 436 deaths due to asthma in Australia, with an age-standardised rate of 1.3 per 100,000 population.

In 2018 there were 389 deaths due to asthma in Australia, with an age-standardised rate of 1.2 per 100,000 population.

Causes of death report is released each year in September. Asthma related deaths are shown under the ICD codes J45 and J46 (Asthma & Status Asthmaticus). It provides a breakdown by state/territory and gender, but not age. Download tables in data download section to access deaths where asthma was an underlying cause.

Some totals may not equal the sum of their component parts. This is because data cell with small values are randomly assigned to protect confidentiality.

An Australian study to estimate the annual burden of mortality and the associated health costs attributable to air pollution from wood heaters in Armidale, a regional Australian city (population, 24 504) with high levels of air pollution in winter caused by domestic wood heaters, 1 May 2018 – 30 April 2019. The health impact (excess annual mortality and financial costs) was assessed based upon atmospheric PM2.5 measurements.
Results:
– 14 premature deaths/year (95% CI, 12–17 deaths), corresponding to 210 years of life lost (95% CI, 172–249) are attributable to long term exposure to wood heater PM2.5 pollution in Armidale.
– The estimated financial cost is $32.8 million (95% CI, $27.0–38.5 million), or $10 930 (95% CI, $9004–12 822) per wood heater per year.
Conclusions: The substantial mortality and financial cost attributable to wood heating in Armidale indicates that effective policies are needed to reduce wood heater pollution, including public education about the effects of wood smoke on health, subsidies that encourage residents to switch to less polluting home heating (perhaps as part of an economic recovery package), assistance for those affected by wood smoke from other people, and regulations that reduce wood heater use (eg, by not permitting new wood heaters and requiring existing units to be removed when houses are sold).

Research article in MJA, single study
Australian study by Dorothy Robinson. A Podcast is also available with the article where she discusses the study findings.

– Applied a consistent framework to model impacts of PM2.5 from eight major sources in Greater Metropolitan Region of Sydney for the year July 2010-June 2011
– Estimated the burden of current mortality attributable to this sources and number of life-years that would be produced if emissions from largest sources were reduced
– Wood heaters were the most important source of PM2.5 exposure, responsible for around 24% of the PM2.5 concentration. Followed by on-road sources (16.9%) and power stations (10.5%).
– Assumes a real-world emissions factor of 11.4 g of PM2.5 per kg of wood burned
– 50% ambient PM2.5 was from wood heaters, on-road sources and power stations.
– Wood heaters were the most important source, responsible for 1,400 YLL annually.
– Around 1.2% of mortality (5,900 YLL) was attributable to long-term exposure to all anthropogenic PM2.5, including 0.3% (1,400 YLL) attributable to wood heater–related PM2.5, 0.2% (990 YLL) to on-road sources and 0.1% (620 YLL) to power stations.
– Introduction of a 1.5 g/kg standard for wood heaters could produce 90,000 life-years.
– Estimated that if there was a sustained reduction in emissions from wood heaters due to the introductions of emissions standards of 1.5g of PM2.5 per kilogram of wood burned, this would produce 90,000 life years among the people alive in 2010/11.
– Although the burden of mortality attributable to each source is relatively small, interventions that achieve sustained reductions in emissions could provide substantial health benefits, which are likely to far outweigh the costs.

According to the Burden of Disease report, at least 3,000 deaths (equivalent to about 28,000 years of life lost) per year in Australia are attributable to air pollution.

A study conducted in Sydney, found even low levels of air pollution (by world standards) are associated with increased risk of premature mortality, further the evidence that there is no safe level of air pollution.

Indigenous Australians have higher asthma mortality rates compared to non-Indigenous Australians, after adjusting for differences in age structure. Between 2011 to 2015, the mortality rate for asthma among Indigenous Australians was 2.8 per 100,000 population, twice that of non-Indigenous Australians (1.4 per 100,000), based on the five jurisdictions with adequate Indigenous identification (NSW, Qld, NT, WA and SA).

Why asthma still kills is the National Review of Asthma Deaths’ (NRAD) first national investigation of asthma deaths in the UK and the largest study worldwide to date. The primary aim was to understand the circumstances surrounding asthma deaths in order to identify avoidable factors and make recommendations to improve care and reduce the number of deaths.

The review found deficiencies in both the routine care of asthma patients and the treatment of attacks. In many instances, neither doctors nor patients recognised the signs of deteriorating asthma; they also did not react quickly enough when these were seen.
Key findings include the following.
• During the final, fatal asthma attack, almost half of those who died did so without seeking medical help, or before emergency care could be provided.
• Around one-fifth of those who died had attended a hospital emergency department for asthma at least once in the previous year.
• Ten per cent died within 1 month of being discharged from hospital for asthma.
• Many of those who died were being treated for mild or moderate asthma. Experts concluded that most of these actually had poorly controlled, severe asthma, but neither the patients nor their doctors recognised this.
• There was widespread over-reliance on reliever inhalers and underuse of preventer inhalers in those who died.
• Nearly half of those who died had not had an asthma review by their GP or nurse in the previous year.
• Around one-fifth of those who died were smokers, and this was thought by experts to have aggravated their asthma; others were exposed to second-hand smoke at home.

This presents data for asthma (and other conditions) from 1907. You can use the interactive table on the webpage or download an excel document. This provides a total deaths and death rate, broken down by age and gender (not state/territory) and comparison (e.g. OECD).

Note that new versions of the ICD (disease classification) where used respectively in 1958, 1968, 1979, and 1997 which may account for some changes in number of deaths (e.g. large number from 1949 to 1950).

AA commissioned the PHIDU team to create an Asthma Atlas with prevalence, AAP ownership, hospitalisations, and deaths. It breaks the data down by Commonwealth Electorate Divisions (CED), Population Health Areas (PHAs) and Statistical Area 3 (SA3).
The link to the left takes you to an online atlas.

The data is modelled using 2016/17 hospitalisation data which is not the most updated national or state/territory level data we have. However, this is very useful if you need data broken down by a local level.

Note (Feb 2024): this link is not accessible anymore, and PHIDU has updated their Social Health Atlas maps with the following asthma-specific data: Census 2021 data (for prevalence), asthma hospital admissions 2020/21; asthma potentially preventable hospitalisations 2020/21.

Previous releases of the PHIDU including NHS 2017/2018 prevalence data (2021 release) can be accessed at: https://phidu.torrens.edu.au/social-health-atlases/data-archive/data-archive-social-health-atlases-of-australia

Few studies investigate the influence of long-term exposure to low-level PM2.5 on cause-specific mortality, particularly for the concentrations consistently well below the current WHO annual standard. This study found long-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with total, non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in Queensland, Australia, where PM2.5 levels were measured well below the WHO air quality standard.