Report highlights health inequalities

Wanganui Maori are two-and-a-half times more likely than non-Maori to die of treatable illnesses, according to a comprehensive new report.

The Whanganui District Health Board Maori Health Profile 2015 is among 20 profiles commissioned by the Ministry of Health for health boards nationwide. Lead researcher Bridget Robson said the profiles were a reminder of the "stark inequalities in health".

"They provide a useful base for identifying key issues and planning actions to improve Maori health," Ms Robson said.

Amenable mortality was 2.5 times as high for Wanganui Maori as for non-Maori, or 1118 more deaths per 100,000, according to the Wanganui profile.

The avoidable hospitalisation rate was 33 per cent higher for Maori than for non-Maori. That equates to more than 1000 potentially avoidable Maori hospital admissions per year.

Between 2008 and 2012 the rate of death from all causes for Maori was twice the non-Maori rate.

Maori females have a life expectancy of 76.4 years, seven years lower than non-Maori females. Maori males have a life expectancy of 72.3 years, 7.2 years lower than for non-Maori males.

Maori females were most likely to die from ischaemic heart disease (IHD), lung cancer, stroke, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

In the 10 years to 2011, the incidence of cancer among Maori females was 27 per cent higher than other females. Breast, lung, uterine, colorectal and thyroid cancers were the most commonly registered among Wanganui Maori women.

Their rate of lung cancer was 6.6 times the rate for other women.

Maori males were most likely to die from IHD, accidents, lung cancer, COPD and suicide. The most common cancers for Maori males were lung, prostate, colon, rectum, kidney and stomach.

In 2013, 15,850 Maori lived in the Whanganui District Health Board region. They comprised 25 per cent of the district's total population.

The Wanganui Maori population was youthful, with a median age of 24.6 years, but showing signs of ageing, the profile said. It also showed:

- About 270 hospitalisations per year of Maori children were potentially avoidable through preventative or treatment intervention in primary care.

- Maori were more likely than non-Maori to be admitted to hospital for a mental disorder during 2011-2013. Schizophrenia-related disorders were the most common disorders, followed by substance use disorders.

- In 2013, 40 per cent of Maori adults aged 18 years or over had at least a Level 2 Certificate, a higher proportion than in 2006 (36 per cent) but 20 per cent lower than non-Maori.

- In 2013, 12 per cent of Wanganui Maori adults aged 15 years and over were unemployed, compared to 6 per cent of non-Maori.

- Smoking rates are decreasing, but remain twice as high for Maori as for non-Maori (38 per cent, compared to 19 per cent in 2013).