MORE people are drinking themselves to death than they were a decade ago, with 107 more men dying an alcohol-induced death in 2021 compared to 2020.
For men, the rate for alcohol-induced deaths was the highest in ten years at 8.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
Those deaths were primarily caused by chronic alcohol-induced conditions such as alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
And while heart disease remained the leading cause of death in Australia, the number of deaths due to dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, which is the second leading cause of death, is continuing to rise.
Death rates due to heart disease have dropped from 73.5 per 100,000 people in 2012, to 50 in 2021, while dementia-related deaths have climbed from an age-standardised rate of 36.3 in 2012 to 43.5 in 2021.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its Causes of Death report for 2021 on Wednesday.
It reveals a total of 1,122 deaths due to COVID-19 in 2021, 99 per cent of which occurred during the Delta wave of the pandemic between July and December 2021.
Those Delta wave victims were slightly younger than those who died in 2020 (aged 79.1 compared to 86.9) with pneumonia the most common acute disease outcome in 60 per cent of deaths in 2021, compared with 31 per cent in 2020.
Across the country, 15 deaths have been linked to a COVID-19 vaccination, most of which are ssubject to open coronial cases.
Heart disease was the leading cause of death in men while dementia was the leading cause among women. The other leading causes of death were stroke, lung cancer, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
Suicide was the leading cause of premature mortality, accounting for 107,068 potential years of life lost. In total, 3,144 people died by suicide. Of those, three quarters were men, with a median age of 46, while the women were slightly younger, at 43.
The number of deaths included 112 suicides of children aged between 5 and 17. Almost a quarter of deaths in young people aged 15-44 were due to suicide.
Common risk factors included psychosocial stressors, mental health conditions, chronic diseases and substance use disorders. More specifically, mood disorders; relationship problems; and acute use of alcohol and psychoactive substances, identified in at least one third of suicides since 2017.
Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467; 13YARN: 13 92 76; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636.
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