![Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in males and females in Warrnambool, new data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals. Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in males and females in Warrnambool, new data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/379mw9XPZ7UFRqmwjWhGKkr/6f4ca945-a4a6-4337-8acd-e5960949d6bc.jpg/r0_14_2051_1167_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Lung cancer is one of the top five leading causes of death for males and females in Warrnambool.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
But a city doctor believes this rate will decrease in the coming years.
Dr Tim Baker, the director of the Centre for Rural Emergency Medicine at Deakin University Warrnambool, said he was pleased the quit smoking message was finally getting through.
New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows lung cancer was the fifth leading cause of death in the Warrnambool local government area in the period from 2017-2021, with 35 deaths.
This was one less than the previous five-year period for males, when it was the fourth leading cause of death.
Lung cancer was the fourth leading cause of death for women from 2017-2021, with 40 deaths.
For women, it was also the fourth leading cause of death in the period from 2013-2017, with 35 deaths.
"Smoking has really decreased but some of these cancers occurred 10 to 15 years ago to start with," Dr Baker said.
"It will take a little while for the benefits of the anti-smoking effort to come through."
Dr Baker said he was relieved society had come a long way with its attitudes towards smoking.
"Smoking was just such a part of every day life when I was young," Dr Baker said.
"When I first started medicine, doctors in the emergency department had a cigarette while they were writing up and we would give ashtrays to patients."
Dr Baker said he was pleased with the progress but concerned about the growing use of vapes.
"I'm a little worried about vaping," Dr Baker said.
"We don't want that to take off."
Dr Baker said young people were presenting to the emergency department feeling unwell after vaping.
"We've got children presenting with vaping related illnesses," Dr Baker said.
He said it was illegal to sell vapes with nicotine to children, but there were young people presenting feeling unwell due to the effects of nicotine.
Other changes in the leading cause of death for Warrnambool residents was dementia , which moved up the list.
It was the second-highest cause of death for women from 2017-2021, with 74 deaths compared to 54 in the previous five-year period.
Dementia was the fourth leading cause of death for men from 2017-2021, with 35 deaths compared to 33 in the previous five years.
Dr Baker said this reflected the region's ageing population.
"We're living longer and women live longer than men," Dr Baker said.
His comments reflect what AIHW spokesperson Richard Juckes said about the data.
He said Australia had one of the highest life expectancies in the world (83.2 years in 2021), ranking fifth among 38 other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Japan is at the top with 84.7 years, closely followed by Switzerland, Korea and Spain.
"The increased life expectancy in Australia is largely attributed to improved medical knowledge and technology, health care availability (such as the widespread accessibility to antibiotics and vaccines), improved living conditions and overall better quality of life,' Mr Juckes said.
Dr Baker said an issue he remained concerned about was the high number of people presenting to emergency with complex problems.
"They're coming in with problems that could have been avoided if they got better primary care," he said.
"They're coming in with complications from diabetes that could have been prevented if it was managed better.
"They're coming in with problems from airway diseases that could have been better managed with puffers and medicine.
"We're also seeing presentations of cancer at a late stage."
Dr Baker said in past years it had been rare for an emergency room doctor to diagnose cancer.
But it was happening more often.
"In the past people have gone to the doctor when the lump was a lot smaller or the symptoms had just started.
"Things aren't getting picked up early."
Dr Baker said he knew the shortage of doctors was an issue across Australia.
But he encouraged people to ensure they were getting regular check-ups with their doctor.
"It's so much easier to treat things if they're caught early," Dr Baker said.
Diabetes was the eighth-highest cause of death for men in the Warrnambool local government area in the period from 2017-2021, with 23 deaths.
This was a decrease from the previous five-year period when there were 26.
It was the 10th leading cause of death for Warrnambool women from 2017-2021, with 17 deaths.
This was also a decrease with 22 in the previous five years.
In Glenelg Shire, heart disease was the leading cause of death for men and women from 2017-2021 with 71 male deaths and 45 female deaths.
This was a decrease from the previous five years when there were 85 males who died from heart disease and 46 females.
Dementia was the second leading cause of death for women, with 42 deaths.
However, it was the ninth leading cause of death for males, with 14 deaths.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was the second leading cause of death for Glenelg men from 2017-2021, with 41 deaths recorded.
Heart disease was the leading cause of death for males in the Southern Grampians local government area, with 51 deaths.
However, cerebrovascular disease was the leading cause for women, with 49 deaths.
Cerebrovascular disease was the second highest cause of death for men, with 31 recorded, while dementia was the second highest for women, with 45 dying from the disease.
Heart disease was the leading cause of death for men and women in Corangamite Shire, with 61 and 31 deaths, respectively.
Lung cancer was the second leading cause of death for men, with 32 recorded, while dementia was the second leading cause for women, with 42 deaths.
Dementia was the sixth leading cause of death for men in Corangamite Shire, with 19 deaths from 2017-2021.
IN OTHER NEWS
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.standard.net.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines and newsletters
- Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
- Tap here to open our Google News page
- Join our Courts and Crime Facebook group and our dedicated Sport Facebook group
- Subscribe