FACTS AND FIGURES

• In 2004-05, 85% of Australian women assessed their health as good, very good or excellent. Only about one in 25 women rated their health as poor. Women’s self-rated health varied according to age. In 2004-05, more young women assessed their health as very good or excellent, compared with women in older age groups. The decline in perceptions of good or excellent health was most noticeable at ages 45-54 years.

• Ischaemic heart disease (commonly called coronary heart disease or heart attack and related disorders) and cerebrovascular disease (stroke) were the two leading causes of death in 2004, accounting for nearly 30% of all female deaths and over one-quarter of all male deaths.

• According to findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health older women scored highly on measures of positive mental health, despite major life challenges such as widowhood. Younger women had higher levels of stress than the middle-aged or older women, and they continued to be stressed through their 20s. Urban life, study, relationship breakdowns and moving house caused most worries. But major life transitions regarded by many as stressful – such as motherhood, marriage and starting work – were associated with decreased stress.

• In 2001, 65% of women aged 18-69 years reported having a Pap smear test at least once every two years. However, 11% reported they had never had one.

• One focus of women’s health policy over the past decade has been on promoting actions such as regular breast examination, mammograms, and Pap smear testing. However, with a recent push towards broader illness prevention and health promotion, women have been advised to take more general actions such as increasing physical activity and adopting healthy eating habits.

• In 2002, more women died from breast cancer than from any other form of cancer. Early detection and treatment of breast cancer results in the best chance of survival, with 90% of women surviving for at least five years after detection if the cancer is localised in the breast and has not spread to other parts of the body.

• In 2001, 51% of women aged 40 years and over reported having a mammogram for screening or diagnostic purposes at least once every two years. The proportion of women aged 40 years and over who reported ever having had a mammogram increased from 64% in 1995 to 72% in 2001.

• In 2001, cervical cancer caused the death of 227 Australian women, a rate of 2.1 deaths per 100,000 population. It is one of the most preventable and curable of all cancers – up to 90% of cases of the most common type of cervical cancer can be prevented if cell changes are detected and treated early.

• Between 1996 and 2001, the life expectancy at birth for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females was estimated to be 65 years – around 17 years lower than for all Australian females.

• The most common health risk factor for women was inadequate vegetable consumption, affecting 84% of all women aged 18 years or more; 40% of women had inadequate fruit consumption. Nearly half (45%) of all women were classified as overweight or obese and one-third of all women undertook very low levels of physical activity. Nearly one in five women was a current smoker, although more men than women used tobacco daily. Over one in 10 women (11.7%), compared to 15.4% of men, reported drinking alcohol at risky levels. Overall, nearly 96% of all Australian women had at least one of the risk factors reported.

• It is estimated that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect 0.5% and 0.5%-1% of the Australian population respectively.

• In 2004-05, 14% of all hospitalisations for mental and behavioural disorders in women aged 12-24 were due to eating disorders.

• Cervical cancer has dropped from eighth to the eight-eenth most common cause of cancer death among Australian women. This is largely due to the success of the cervical screening program (Pap smears).

• A woman’s risk of dying from breast cancer before 85 has been declining, from a 1 in 29 risk in 1983 to a 1 in 36 risk in 2004. There were 2,641 female deaths and 20 male deaths due to breast cancer in 2004.

• In 2005, there were 10,744 births to mothers younger than 20 years of age, accounting for 4.1% of all births in 2005. As a proportion of all births, teenage pregnancies have shown a modest decline since 1996.

• The alcohol in the bloodstream of a pregnant woman enters that of her unborn child, and, in sufficient quantities, this can cause problems for the unborn child. The first few weeks after conception are the most vulnerable period. Heavy drinking episodes and occasional intoxication may increase the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, cognitive defects and congenital abnormalities.

• Women have an enhanced risk of sustaining an injury after drinking. The main cause of female alcohol-related deaths are stroke and fall injuries, followed by alcoholic liver cirrhosis, road injury, breast cancer and alcohol dependence. Drinking 4-5 standard drinks per day increases the risk of death by up to 40% higher than that of non-drinkers. Approximately 2% of female deaths are alcohol-related.

• In 2004-05, 11.4% of women and 10% of men reported having a long-term mental or behavioural problem. Anxiety-related problems and mood (affective) problems were the most commonly reported conditions. Women were 1.5 times more likely than men to report each of these conditions. Men were 2.5 times more likely than women to report alcohol and drug problems.