4-9
4-9. Back pain prevalence
4-9-1. Back pain prevalence in Australia – by state and territory
4-9-2. Back pain prevalence – Aboriginal people
4-9-1. Back pain prevalence in Australia – by state and territory
- An estimated one in six (16.4%, age standardised) of the population in South Australia is living with back problems (dorsopathies) which has lasted, or is expected to last, six months or longer1.
- This measure includes sciatica, disc disorders, curvature of the spine and other back pain/problems1.
- The South Australian rate is higher than the Australian average (15.7%, age standardised)1.
State/Territory | % |
New South Wales | 13.9% |
Northern Territory | 14.0% |
Queensland | 16.2% |
South Australia | 16.4% |
Victoria | 16.4% |
Australian Capital Territory | 16.6% |
Tasmania | 16.9% |
Western Australia | 17.2% |
Australia | 15.7% |
Data source: ABS 2018
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4-9-2. Back pain prevalence – Aboriginal people
- An estimated one in six (15.6%) of the Aboriginal population in South Australia is living with back problems (dorsopathies) which has lasted, or is expected to last, six months or longer1.
- This measure includes sciatica, disc disorders, curvature of the spine and other back pain/problems1.
- The South Australian rate for Aboriginal people is higher than the Australian average for Aboriginal people (12.6%)1.
- The South Australian prevalance of long-term back problems among Aboriginal people in South Australia is similar to the all-person rate (16.4%, age standardised) reported in 4-9-1 above1 2.
State/Territory | % |
Northern Territory | 6.1% |
Western Australia | 11.0% |
Queensland | 11.1% |
New South Wales | 13.6% |
South Australia | 15.6% |
Victoria | 16.8% |
Australian Capital Territory | 19.5% |
Tasmania | 21.5% |
Australia | 12.6% |
Data source: ABS 2019
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Sources
- Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2018), ‘Table 2.3 Summary health characteristics — States and territories, Proportion of persons’, National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18, cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, 12 December 2018.
- Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS 2019), 'Table 3.3 Selected health characteristics, by State/Territory, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons, 2018–19, Proportion of persons,' National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2018-19, cat. no. 4715.0, 11 December 2019.
