Disparity in Mortality From Rheumatic Heart Disease in Indigenous Australians

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent estimates of the global burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) have highlighted the paucity of reliable RHD mortality data from populations most affected by RHD. METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated RHD mortality rates and trends for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory (NT) for the period 1977-2005 and seminationally (NT plus 4 other states, covering 89% of Indigenous Australians) from 1997 to 2005 using vital statistics data. All analysis was undertaken by Indigenous status, sex, and age at death. In the NT, 90% of all deaths from RHD were among Indigenous persons; however, the Indigenous population makes up only 30.4% of the NT population..