Burden of disease 2023 (AIHW)
In 2023, Asthma was the 10th leading contributor to the total burden of disease in Australia with a disability-adjusted life years (DALY) rate of 5.34 per 1,000 population (141,621 DALY, crude number).
– After adjustement for age structure, asthma was the 8th leading cause of total burden, with an age-standardised DALY rate of 5.3 DALY per 1,000, up from 9th in 2018 and 2015, and 10th in 2011 and 2003, an increase by 8.4% in the last 20 years (from 4.9 per 1,000 in 2003; 4.4 in 2011; 5.0 in 2015; 5.2 in 2018 and 5.3 in 2023)
– 5.7% of the total asthma burden was fatal, 94.3% was non-fatal
By gender:
– Asthma ranked 6th in females of all ages for total burden (after adjusting for age) with an age-standardised DALY rate of 5.7 DALY per 1,000, up from 7th in 2018 and a 4.1% increase since 2003
– Asthma ranked 10th in males of all ages for total burden (after adjusting for age) with an age-standardised DALY rate of 4.9 DALY per 1,000, down from 9th in 2018 and a 13.8% increase since 2003
By age groups (age-specific DALY per 1,000), asthma ranked as leading cause of total burden of disease:
– Under 5 year-olds (0-4): 5th in females ( accounting for 3% of total burden) and in males (3.5% of total burden), ranking 5th overall — however, ranking 1st in boys, girls and overall for the age group 1-4
– 5-14 year-olds: 1st in females (11.1% of total burden) and 2nd in males (12.8% of total burden) after Autism spectrum disorder, ranking 1st overall
– 15-24 year-olds: 5th in females (5.1% of total burden) and in males (4.7% of total burden), ranking 4th overall
– 25-44 year-olds: 4th in females (4.7% of total burden) and 9th in males (5th overall)
– In 45-64 year-olds: 8th in females and 15th in males (12th overall)
– In 65-84 year-olds: 17th in females and beyond 20th in males (20th overall)
– In 85 year-olds and older: beyond 20th for females, males and overall
Note: to compare epidemiological data, it is usually preferred to use age-standardised statistics to ensure the differences are not caused by variations in age structure and an ageing population, unless the data is for specific age ranges in which case “crude” age-specific statistics are used.