Data released on Friday, August 7 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveals the leading causes of death in the Shoalhaven.
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The AIHW data, collected from 2014-18, shows coronary heart disease was the leading cause of death in the Shoalhaven followed by stroke then dementia.
The Fourth most common was lung cancer then chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bowel cancer, diabetes, heart failure, prostate cancer, hypertensive disease (high blood pressure), unknown cancer, irregular heartbeat, flu/pneumonia, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, suicide, liver cancer, lymphoma, melanoma and ill-defined causes.
For the majority of causes of deaths, the Shoalhaven had a higher rate compared to the rest of Australia.
The Shoalhaven was particularly over-represented in deaths from skin melanoma, heart failure, suicide, hypertensive disease (high blood pressure) and stroke.
From 2014 to 2018 the total number of deaths in the Shoalhaven dropped, despite an increase in population.
But the median aged of death dropped for 82 to 81 years.
Off all deaths in the Shoalhaven in 2018, 33 per cent were premature (under 75 years old) and of those premature deaths 46 per cent were avoidable deaths.