Objective: To estimate the impact of tobacco smoking on mortality and morbidity in the NT Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations aged 30 years and above between 2014 and 2018.
Setting: NT, Australia.
Participants: Adults (> 30 years) who were NT residents.
Methods: We used the NT Burden of Disease study (2014–2018) results and Global Burden of Disease methods to estimate smoking-attributable deaths and smoking-attributable burden of disease for the NT Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adult populations. The smoking prevalence data were based on 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heath Survey and 2016 National Drugs Strategy Household Survey.
Results: Smoking was attributable to 18.3% of the total deaths for NT adults aged 30 years and above with 23.8% in Aboriginal and 13.9% in the non- Aboriginal population. Smoking explained 19.5% and 10.7% of total disability adjusted life years among the NT Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal populations respectively. The top three smoking-attributable burden of diseases for the Aboriginal population were ischaemic heart disease, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In the non-Aboriginal population, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and back pain were the leading causes of smoking-attributable burden. Leading causes of smoking- related mortality in the Aboriginal population were ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and diabetes, while in non- Aboriginal population the most common causes were lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischaemic heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
Conclusions: Tobacco smoking was associated with a higher burden of disease among the Aboriginal population than the non-
Aboriginal population. Our study quantifies the disproportionate impact of tobacco smoking within the Aboriginal population and the NT as a whole compared to the rest of Australia.