Key findings
Drawn from the dashboards, the key findings provide a high level summary of the impact of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease (including dialysis and acute kidney injury) in terms of prevalence, hospitalisation and death rates by broad geographic area.
Explore the maps in the dashboards to see the variation by selected state/territory, Primary Health Network or Population Health Area. Refer to the Technical notes for more information on the geographical structures used in this product.
Explore key findings:
How common is type 2 diabetes?
In 2018:
- more than 1.1 million Australian adults (registered with the National Diabetes Services Scheme) had type 2 diabetes. This represents 5.9% of the adult population.
- the proportion of adults with type 2 diabetes ranged from 4.5% in the Australian Capital Territory to 7.4% in the Northern Territory.
- by Primary Health Network (PHN), the proportion of adults with type 2 diabetes ranged from 3.8% to 8.1%. Overall, age-adjusted rates were higher in regional than in metropolitan areas.
- by Population Health Area (PHA), the proportion of adults with type 2 diabetes ranged from 0.7% to 14.2%. Compared with their respective state/territory average, the PHAs with the highest age-adjusted rates generally displayed less favourable health risk profiles and had higher proportions of the population living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
Hospital care for type 2 diabetes
In 2017–18:
- there were more than 2,900 hospitalisations per day with type 2 diabetes as the principal and/or additional diagnosis—about 1.1 million hospitalisations over the year.
- type 2 diabetes hospitalisation rates ranged from 2,400 to 6,800 per 100,000 population in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, respectively.
- type 2 diabetes hospitalisation rates ranged from 2,400 to 7,300 per 100,000 population by PHN with age-adjusted rates generally higher in regional than in metropolitan areas.
Between 2015–16 and 2017–18:
- by PHA, type 2 diabetes hospitalisation rates ranged from 326 to 32,900 per 100,000 population. The PHAs recording the highest age-adjusted rates were all located in remote areas with higher proportions of Indigenous Australians and people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas than their respective state/territory.
Deaths from type 2 diabetes
Between 2013 and 2017:
- on average, 8,800 Australians died with type 2 diabetes listed as the underlying and/or associated cause each year—24 people per day.
- type 2 diabetes death rates ranged from 24 to 54 per 100,000 population in Western Australia and South Australia, respectively.
- by PHN, type 2 diabetes death rates ranged from 22 to 68 per 100,000 population. The highest age-adjusted rates were all located in regional areas.
- by PHA, type 2 diabetes death rates ranged from 5 to 208 per 100,000 population. PHAs recording the highest age-adjusted rates were mostly located in regional or remote areas with higher proportions of Indigenous Australians and people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas than their respective state/territory.
How common is heart, stroke and vascular disease?
In 2017–18:
- 6.2% of Australian adults had self-reported heart, stroke and vascular disease (HSVD)—about 1.2 million people.
- the proportion of adults with self-reported HSVD ranged from 2.9% in the Northern Territory to 7.7% in Tasmania.
- by Primary Health Network (PHN), self-reported HSVD rates ranged from 2.9% to 8.4%. Age-adjusted rates were generally higher in regional than in metropolitan PHN areas.
- by Population Health Area (PHA), self-reported HSVD rates ranged from 1.8% to 11.9%. Overall, PHAs with the highest age-adjusted rates displayed less favourable health risk profiles than their respective state/territory and had higher proportions living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas than the national average.
Hospital care for cardiovascular disease
In 2017–18:
- there were more than 580,000 hospitalisations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) listed as the principal diagnosis in Australia—around 1,600 hospitalisations per day.
- CVD hospitalisation rates ranged from 1,400 to 2,600 per 100,000 population in the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, respectively.
- CVD hospitalisation rates ranged from 1,400 to 3,700 per 100,000 population across the PHNs. The highest age-adjusted rates were generally located in regional areas.
Between 2015–16 and 2017–18:
- by PHA, CVD hospitalisation rates ranged from 197 to 6,200 per 100,000 population. PHAs with the highest age-adjusted rates were generally located in remote areas and displayed less favourable health profiles than the national average. These areas also had populations with higher proportions of Indigenous Australians and people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas than their respective state/territory.
Deaths from cardiovascular disease
Between 2015 and 2017:
- on average, around 44,400 Australians died with CVD recorded as the underlying cause each year—equivalent to 122 people per day.
- CVD death rates ranged from 102 to 256 per 100,000 population in the Northern Territory and Tasmania, respectively.
- by PHN, CVD death rates ranged from 99 to 301 per 100,000 population with age-adjusted rates generally higher in regional than in major metropolitan areas.
- by PHA, CVD death rates ranged from 14 to 716 per 100,000 population. The highest age-adjusted rates were generally recorded in remote areas with less favourable health profiles compared with the national average. These areas had higher proportions of elderly in aged care, Indigenous Australians and people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas than their respective state/territory.
How common is chronic kidney disease?
In 2011–12:
- 1 in 10 Australian adults (1.7 million people) had biomedical signs of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
- the proportion of adults with biomedical signs of CKD was similar across the states and territories.
- by Primary Health Network (PHN), the proportion of adults with biomedical signs of CKD ranged from 7.8% to 12.6%.
- by Population Health Area (PHA), the proportion of adults with biomedical signs of CKD ranged from 3.9% to 17.2%. In comparison with their respective state/territory, PHAs recording the highest age-adjusted rates were at greater socioeconomic disadvantage and had less favourable health risk profiles, with higher rates of obesity, current tobacco smoking and type 2 diabetes than the national average.
Hospital care for chronic kidney disease
In 2017-18:
- on average, more than 1,000 hospitalisations per day in Australia had CKD recorded as the principal and/or additional diagnosis (includes acute kidney injury (AKI) but excludes dialysis as the principal diagnosis)—equating to around 367,000 hospitalisations per year.
- CKD-related hospitalisation rates ranged from 952 to 4,100 per 100,000 population in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, respectively.
- by PHN, CKD-related hospitalisation rates ranged from 940 to 4,100 hospitalisations per 100,000 population. Overall, the highest age-adjusted rates were seen in regional and remote areas.
Between 2015–16 and 2017–18:
- by PHA, CKD hospitalisation rates ranged from 254 to almost 20,000 per 100,000 population. Overall, PHAs with the highest age-adjusted rates were located in regional areas and had populations with notably higher proportions of Indigenous Australians than the state/territory average.
Deaths from chronic kidney disease
Between 2013 and 2017:
- on average, 16,800 people died each year in Australia with CKD (including AKI) listed as the underlying and/or associated cause of death—46 people per day.
- CKD death rates ranged from 45 to 83 deaths per 100,000 population in Western Australia and South Australia, respectively.
- by PHN, CKD death rates ranged from 42 to 122 deaths per 100,000 population with the highest age-adjusted rates generally recorded in regional and remote areas.
- by PHA, CKD death rates ranged from 5 to 320 per 100,000 population with the highest age-adjusted rates recorded in regional and remote areas.
Hospital care for dialysis
In 2017–18:
- on average, there were almost 3,900 hospitalisations for dialysis each day in Australia—over 1.4 million in the year.
- hospitalisation rates for dialysis ranged from 5,000 to 32,100 hospitalisations per 100,000 population in New South Wales and the Northern Territory, respectively. Tasmania recorded the lowest age-adjusted rate—half the national average.
- by PHN, dialysis rates ranged from 3,400 to 32,100 hospitalisations per 100,000 population with the highest age-adjusted rates seen in regional and remote areas.
Between 2015–16 and 2017–18:
- by PHA, hospitalisation rates for dialysis ranged from 39 to 182,000 hospitalisations per 100,000 population with higher age-adjusted rates seen in regional and remote areas compared with metropolitan areas.
Hospital care for acute kidney injury
In 2017-18:
- there were 226,100 hospitalisations with a diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in Australia—around 619 hospitalisations per day. This represents 3 in 5 of all hospitalisations for chronic kidney disease.
- AKI hospitalisation rates ranged from 749 to 1,100 hospitalisations per 100,000 in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, respectively.
- by Primary Health Network (PHN), AKI-related hospitalisation rates ranged from 686 to 1,200 hospitalisations per 100,000 population. The highest age-adjusted rates were seen in regional and remote areas.
Between 2015–16 and 2017–18:
- by Population Health Area (PHA), AKI hospitalisation rates ranged from 133 to 2,400 hospitalisations per 100,000 population. Overall, PHAs with the highest age-adjusted rates were located in regional and remote areas and had populations with higher proportions of Indigenous Australians and people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas than their respective state/territory.
Deaths from acute kidney injury
Between 2013 and 2017:
- on average, 5,400 people died with AKI listed as the underlying and/or associated cause of death each year in Australia—around 15 people per day.
- AKI death rates ranged from 13 to 29 deaths per 100,000 population in the Northern Territory and South Australia, respectively.
- by PHN, AKI death rates ranged from 13 to 32 deaths per 100,000 population with the highest age-adjusted rates generally recorded in metropolitan areas.
- by PHA, AKI death rates ranged from 2 to 96 deaths per 100,000 population. PHAs recording the highest age-adjusted rates generally displayed characteristics associated with vulnerable population groups. These include: higher proportions of older persons living in aged care, Indigenous Australians and people living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas compared with their respective state or territory.