Bulletin 11 - Why young males?
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Why young males?
Males in the 15 to 29 year age group experience high rates of injury
mortality when compared with males of other ages and females in the same age
range and across the age spectrum. (An exception to this is the high injury
mortality rate experienced by the elderly.) In 1993 injury accounted for 73% of
deaths among males age 15-29. Young male deaths accounted for 48% of the years
of potential life lost as a result of injury among males.
The patterns of injury shown in Figure 1 suggest that the issue of young male
injury is worthy of separate study and that it may be necessary to target
specific prevention strategies at this risk group.
Elevated injury risk among young males is not confined to death. Hospital
separations and emergency department attendances also show young males to be at
higher risk than most other groups. They also reveal a far wider range of
injury causes than is shown by death data and demonstrate the importance of the
workplace and recreation activities, especially sports. |
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Table 1 shows that in the 15-29 year age group injury is very much a male phenomenon.
Self inflicted injury is much more lethal among males than females and overall
males experience four times the external cause death rate and almost three
times the hospital separation rate compared to females. Aboriginals have higher
overall rates of injury death than non-aboriginals - for more detailed
information refer to Australian Injury Prevention Bulletin No. 7 [1].
Table 1: Major indicators of injury in 15 to 29 year old males and females
| Deaths, Australia 1993 |
No. deaths |
Rate (per 100,000) |
M/F rate ratio |
| Indicator |
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
|
| Total deaths from all causes |
2218 |
752 |
106.5 |
37.2 |
2.9 |
| External cause deaths (excl. medical misadventure) |
1620 |
380 |
77.8 |
18.8 |
4.1 |
| Non intentional / intent unknown |
1012 |
243 |
48.6 |
12.0 |
4.1 |
| Self inflicted |
545 |
93 |
26.1 |
4.6 |
5.7 |
| Violence related |
63 |
44 |
3.0 |
2.2 |
1.4 |
| Hospital Separations Australia (except NT) 1991-1992 |
No. separations |
Rate (per 100,000) |
M/F rate ratio |
| Indicator |
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
|
| Total All causes |
291480 |
702385 |
14488.6 |
35448.9 |
0.4 |
| External Cause (excl medical misadventure) |
62561 |
3147.6 |
24046 |
1213.6 |
2.6 |
| Non intentional |
52853 |
2659.2 |
18629 |
940.2 |
2.8 |
| Self inflicted |
2724 |
137.1 |
3383 |
170.7 |
0.8 |
| Violence related |
6984 |
351.4 |
2034 |
102.7 |
3.4 |
There has been a growing awareness recently that men's health is an issue
which requires specific attention. The main focus of the men's health movement
has been on the diseases and disabilities of middle life and the premature
mortality of men from heart disease and prostate cancer. Injury rates are
higher for males than females at most age groups. This Bulletin shows that
injury to young males is frequent and severe enough to be considered to be an
important men's health issue. Injury is a significant cause of premature death
and disability among men and is much more common among men than women. Injury
is by far the most frequent cause of death among young males.
1. Harrison J, Moller J. Injury mortality amongst Aboriginal Australians.
Australian Injury Prevention Bulletin 7, 1994.
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