Unnikrishnan, Renu

Zhao, Yuejen

Chondur, Ramakrishna

Burgess, Paul

2023-11-15

Harmful use of alcohol is a problem in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. The aim of this study was to assess and compare alcohol-attributable deaths and the contribution of alcohol to the burden of disease and injury (BOD) among the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations in the NT between 2014 and 2018. The alcohol-use data for adults aged 15+ years old in the NT population was taken from the 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey. BOD was measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALY) as part of the NT BOD study. Population-attributable fractions were derived to analyse deaths and BOD. Between 2014 and 2018, 673 Aboriginal and 392 non-Aboriginal people died of harmful use of alcohol, accounting for 26.3% and 12.9% of the total deaths in the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population, respectively. Alcohol caused 38,596 and 15,433 DALY (19.9% and 10.2% of the total), respectively, in the NT Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population for the same period. The alcohol-attributable DALY rate in the Aboriginal population was 10,444.6 per 100,000 persons, six times the non-Aboriginal rate. This study highlights the urgent need to reduce harmful alcohol use in the NT, which disproportionately affects Aboriginal peoples in rural and remote areas.

Health Statistics & Informatics, Department of Health, Darwin, NT 0800, Australia.

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Nov 15;20(22):7066. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20227066.

0000-0002-5775-4503

0000-0002-4870-4459

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37998297/?otool=iaurydwlib

https://hdl.handle.net/10137/12557

20

Adult

Humans

Adolescent

*Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology

*Alcoholism/epidemiology

Northern Territory/epidemiology

Cost of Illness

Alcohol-Attributable Death and Burden of Illness among Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Populations in Remote Australia, 2014-2018.

Journal Article

Publication