No Flu Deaths?  And standard deaths falling?  the cream added to Covid deaths? uh-oh – Mick Raven

Causes of Death, Australia, 2020 Australian Bureau of Statistics

• COVID-19 was the 38th leading cause of death (898 deaths).
• In 2020 there was a decrease in mortality in Australia.
• The five leading causes decreased, with a significant reduction in respiratory diseases.
• Rates from suicide, drug overdoses and car crashes decreased.
• Their median age at death was 86 years.
• Dementia was the most common pre-existing condition (275 deaths).

Standardised death rates (SDRs) In 2020:

• When adjusted for late registrations the SDR in 2020 was 6% lower than in 2019 (488.8 versus 519.1).
• While SDRs have been generally decreasing over time, the 6% decrease between 2019 and 2020 is the largest single year change in the last 10 years.
• Both males and females recorded the lowest SDR for the last decade.
• Australia is one of a small number of countries including New Zealand and Denmark which recorded a lower death rate during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020: All cause mortality by age

The age-specific death (ASDR) rate decreased across all age groups

2020: Top five leading causes of death

• The top five leading causes of death remained the same as in 2019 (Ischaemic heart disease, Dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, Cerebrovascular diseases, Lung cancer and Chronic lower respiratory diseases) .
• The age-standardised death rate decreased for all top five leading causes of death from 2019.
• Deaths due to chronic lower respiratory diseases (including emphysema) had the highest proportional rate decrease from 2019 at 17.8%.
• The reduction in acute respiratory conditions such as pneumonia contributed to a decrease in the top five leading causes of death.
• All top five leading causes of death are non-communicable diseases (they are not passed from person to person).

2020: Respiratory disease mortality

• There was a 23.9% decrease in the age-standardised death rate from respiratory diseases.
• Influenza and pneumonia mortality had the highest proportional rate decrease of all respiratory diseases with a drop of 45.8% from 2019.
• There were 55 people who died from influenza (2020). This compares to 1,080 in 2019.

 – Gain of Statistics me thinks – Mick Raven

• Pneumonia is also a common terminal cause of death, especially for older people who have long term chronic conditions. There was a decrease of more than 20% in influenza and pneumonia as an associated cause of death (where it was not the underlying cause of death).
• The decrease in the respiratory disease death rate from 2019 is the largest recorded over the last ten years.

2020: Suicides

• The age-standardised suicide rate was 12.1 deaths per 100,000 people, a 6.2% decrease from 2019.
• For females, the suicide rate was the lowest since 2013 and for males the lowest since 2016

2020: Motor vehicle accidents

• The death rate from motor vehicle accidents decreased by over 10% from 2019.
• For both males and females the mortality rate was the lowest in the ten year time series.

2020: Drug-induced deaths

• There was a 4% decrease in the age-standardised rate of drug-induced deaths from 2019.
• The rate for all people is the lowest since 2013.