This section of the Chief Health Officer report looks at selected non-communicable diseases:
- cancer and skin cancers
- heart disease
- stroke
- diabetes
- musculoskeletal conditions.
Heart disease, stroke, diabetes and musculoskeletal conditions usually present as chronic diseases, which means they tend to to be long lasting and have persistent effects. Chronic diseases have a range of potential impacts on a person’s individual circumstances, including quality of life and broader social and economic effects. Chronic diseases are the leading cause of fatal burden of disease (the amount of life lost due to people dying early) in most age and sex groups in Australia. In Victoria, more than 22 per cent of adults have been diagnosed with two or more chronic conditions.
It draws on:
- Cancer in Victoria published by the Cancer Council Victoria in 2018
- the Victorian population health survey 2016 published by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2018.
It includes data on the most common cancers in Victoria, people at most risk of heart disease, diabetes, and the musculoskeletal conditions of arthritis and osteoporosis.
Reviewed 17 April 2023