Burden of mental and substance use disorders in Indigenous Australians and Oceania

Abstract

Objective: Mental and substance use disorders are responsible for significant health loss across the globe. In this review, the burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders in Indigenous Australians and Pacific Island countries was described and compared. Methods: For Indigenous Australians, findings from the burden of disease and injury study by Begg and colleagues1 were summarised. These were then compared to the findings of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010,2 which reported results for Oceania, a region consisting of Pacific Island countries. Results for mental and substance use disorder burden were described in terms of disability-adjusted life years, years lived with disability and years of life lost to due to premature mortality. Results: Mental and substance use disorders were the leading cause of non-fatal burden (i.e. disability) in both Indigenous Australia and Oceania. Furthermore, in Oceania mental and substance use disorders are projected to cause more disability than all communicable diseases combined by 2050. Conclusion Mental and substance use disorders contribute significantly to health loss for both Indigenous Australians and Pacific Island populations. These findings indicate a substantial need to prioritise these disorders in terms of policy, services and research.

Reviewing Publicly Available Reports on Child Health Disparities in Indigenous and Remote Communities of Australia

“…Chronic health conditions (including diabetes, arthritis, obesity and vascular diseases) are higher in Indigenous populations compared to non-Indigenous populations [11][12][13][14][15]. Indigenous Australians also experience greater impacts from risk factors such as smoking, risky alcohol consumption, limited consumption of fruits and vegetables and physical inactivity [16][17][18][19]. A higher level of environmental and socioeconomic disadvantages (including poor housing, lower incomes, higher unemployment and exposure to droughts and floods) are experienced by Indigenous Australians [20][21][22].…”