What do we know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

Smoking  Adult daily smokers (13.8%)  Adults never smoked (55.7%)  Young adults (18-24 year olds) never smoked (75.3%)  Men smoke daily (16.5)

Women smoke daily (11.1%)  Current daily smokers smoked average 12.3 cigarettes per day Physical activity  15 years and over exercised 42 minutes per day on average,  Walking for transport and walking for exercise (24.6 minutes)  Met physical activity guidelines; 15-17 year olds (1.9%), 18-64 year olds (15.0%) 65 year olds (17.2%)  15-17 year olds engaged in 60 minutes of exercise (excluding workplace) every day (10.3%)  15-17 year olds engaged in strength or toning activities on three or more days in last week (15.8%)  18-64 years olds undertook 150 minutes or more of exercise in the last week, excluding workplace physical activity (55.4%)  18-64 year olds undertook strength or toning activities on two or more days in the last week (24.9%)  Older adults (65 years and over) engaged in 30 minutes of exercise on 5 or more days in last week (26.1%)  Adults aged 18-64 years described their day at work as mostly sitting (43.7%); mostly walking (22.8%); mostly standing (19.5%); mostly heavy labour or physically demanding work (13.6%)

Source: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/national-health-survey-first-results/latest-release Accessed 13th August 2021

The 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) was conducted between July 2018 and April 2019.

It collected information from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of all ages in non-remote and remote areas of Australia, including discrete Indigenous communities.

It collected information on a number of topics for the first time, including mental health conditions, medications, consumption of sugar sweetened and diet drinks, experiences of harm and a hearing test. Within each identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander household in both the community and non-community sample:

 up to two adults (aged 18 years and over) and two children (aged 0–17 years) were randomly selected in non-remote areas, and  up to one adult (aged 18 years and over) and one child (aged 0–17 years) were randomly selected in remote areas.

Health  At least one chronic condition posed a significant health problem (46%)  Anxiety (17%) or depression (13%)  Rated own health as excellent or very good (45%)

Chronic conditions  One or more selected chronic conditions (46%)  Males one or more selected chronic conditions (44%)  Females one or more selected chronic conditions (47%) Heart disease  Heart disease (5%); males (6%), females (5%)

Diabetes  Diabetes (8%); 55 years and over (35%)

Kidney disease  Kidney disease (1.8%); females (2.3%), males (1.2%), over 55 year (8%)

Ear disease and hearing problems  Ear disease or hearing problems (14%); aged 25–34 years (12%), 35–44 years (15%), over 55 years (34%)  Partial or complete deafness in one or both ears (10%)  Children aged 0–14 years deaf in one or both ears (4%); long-term otitis media (3%) Disability  Disability (38%); males (39%), females (37%)  Profound or severe disability (8%); males (9%), females (8%)

Risk factors  Smoked every day (37%)

Children aged 2–14 years overweight or obese (37%)  Sugar sweetened drinks consumed every day over 15 years of age (24%)

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease  Asthma (16%); females (18%), males (13%)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3.4%); females (4.3%) males (2.5%); higher 55 years and over (13%)

Mental health  Mental or behavioural condition (24%); males (23%), females (25%); aged 2–14 years (15%), 15–24 years (24%)  Anxiety (17%); females (21%), males (12%)  Depression (13%); females (16%), males (10%)  Behavioural or emotional problems aged 2–14 years (11%)

High blood pressure  Hypertension 8%; aged 25–34 years (3.0%), aged 55 years and over (38%)  High blood pressure reading at the time of interview (23%); males (25%), females (21%) Psychological distress  Experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress (31%); females (35%) males (26%)

Self-assessed health status  Rated own health excellent or very good improved (45%); rated health good (32%)

Smoking  Current smokers (41%); smoked every day (37%), smoked but not every day (3%), males (39%), females (36%); ,aged 15–17 years (10%), smoked every day averaged 12 cigarettes per day  Ex-smokers (22%); males (21%), females (23%)  Never smoked (37%); males (36%), females (39%)  Young people never smoked 15–17 years (85%), 18–24 years (50%)

Alcohol consumption  Exceeded single occasion risk guideline (> four standard drinks one occasion last 12 months, 54%); males (65%), females (43%), 55 years and over males (47%), females (23%), 15–17 years (18%)  Exceeded lifetime risk guideline (consumed more than two standard drinks per day on average (20%); males (30%), females (10%); aged 18–24 year, males (33%), females (8%)  Not consumed alcohol in last 12 months or never consumed alcohol (26%); females (31%), males (19%) Substance use  Used substances non-medical purposes previous year (28%); males (37%), females (21%); 15–29 years (33%), 30–44 years (31%), 45 years + (21%)  Marijuana use in previous year (24%); males (31%), females (18%), 15–29 years (29%), 30–44 years (25%)  Amphetamines (7%)

Diet and weight (children)  Children aged 2–14 years met guidelines for recommended number of serves of fruit each day (69%)  Children met guidelines for recommended number of serves of vegetables per day (7.0%)  Children aged 2–14 years usually consumed sugar sweetened drinks or diet drinks at least once a week (63%)  Children usually consumed sugar sweetened drinks at least once a week (59%); consumed diet drinks at least once a week (9%); children usually consumed sugar sweetened drinks daily (20%), children consumed diet drinks daily (2.0%)  Children aged 2–14 years normal weight range (54%); children were overweight (24%), obese (13%); underweight (9.0%)

Diet, weight and exercise (adult)  Met guidelines for recommended number serves fruit per day (39%); females (44%), males (35%)  Met guidelines for recommended number of serves of vegetables per day (4.0%); females (6%), males (2%)  Usually consumed sugar sweetened drinks or diet drinks at least once a week (71%); males (75%), females (67%); < 45 years (80%), 45–54 years (63%), 55 years + (49%)  Usually consumed sugar sweetened drinks daily (24%), consumed diet drinks daily (6%)  Overweight or obese (71%); overweight (29%), obese (43%); normal weight range (25%); underweight (4.0%), obese females (45%), males (40%)  Measured waist circumference that put them at increased risk of developing chronic disease (71%); females (81%), males (60%), aged 55 years + (86%)  Did not meet physical activity guidelines for their age (89%); no physical activity at all in the last week (22%); males (20%), females (23%)

Physical harm  Experienced physical harm or threatened physical harm at least once in 12 months prior (16%); males (17%), females (14%), identified an intimate partner/family member as at least one of the offenders females (74%), males (56%)  Physically injured in their most recent experience of physical harm (72%); males (75%), females (72%)  Reported most recent experience of physical harm to the police (44%); females (59%), males (28%)  Experienced at least one threat face-to-face (9%), non-face-to-face (6%); experienced at least one of those threats from someone they knew, females (96%), males (84%), experienced at least one of those threats from a stranger (18%); received at least one non-face-to-face threat had received at least one of those threats via text message, phone, email or writing (61%)