HOSPITALIZATION OF ABORIGINAL AND NONABORIGINAL PATIENTS FOR RESPIRATORY-TRACT DISEASES IN WESTERN-AUSTRALIA, 1988-1993

Background. Aboriginal people have lower health standards than other A ustralians, Respiratory tract diseases are prominent causes of high mo rbidity and mortality rates in the Aboriginal population, However, ver y little is known about the patterns of respiratory illnesses which af fect these people. Method. This paper compares Aboriginal and non-Abor iginal age-specific hospitalization patterns for respiratory tract dis eases from 1988 to 1993 in Western Australia (WA). Results. Aboriginal people were admitted for respiratory diseases 2-16 times more frequen tly than non-Aboriginals of the same age with considerable discrepanci es in hospitalization rates particularly in infants, young children an d older adults. High admission rates for acute respiratory tract injec tions, pneumonia and asthma occurred in Aboriginal infants, Pneumonia was a disproportionately frequent cause of admissions in Aboriginal in fants, children and adults. Pneumonia was a more frequent cause of adm ission among non-metropolitan compared to metropolitan Aboriginals, As thma was a frequent cause of admissions of Aboriginal children and hos pitalization rates for this disease were higher in nonmetropolitan tha n metropolitan areas. Chronic obstructive airway disease and respirato ry tract carcinoma were important causes of hospitalization in older A boriginals. Conclusions. Admission rates for respiratory conditions we re consistently higher among the Aboriginal population and in non-metr opolitan areas. The overwhelming importance of infections among Aborig inal admissions has significant implications for the prevention and ma nagement of respiratory diseases among Aboriginal people.