A further breakdown of the data reveals that 3.4 million Australians aged 16 to 85, approximately 17% of the population, saw a health professional for their mental health.
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Women were also more likely to report “high or very high levels of psychological distress than men,” 19% compared to 12%.
For the first time, the 2021 census also collected information on diagnosed and ongoing health conditions. He found that more than 8 million people have a long-term illness.
Although mental health topped the list of chronic diseases, it was closely followed by arthritis, which affected 2.1 million Australians. Asthma was the third most common condition in the long run, with more than 2.06 million people reporting a diagnosis.
More than 1.1 million Australians reported a diagnosis of diabetes and 999,000 people reported a long-term diagnosis of heart disease. More than 732,000 people had been diagnosed with cancer for more than six months or were in remission of the disease.
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When asked if the pandemic had influenced the results of chronic diseases in the census, the professor of public health at the University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health, Rob Moodie, said the answer was be a resounding yes.
He said physiological distress was often a factor in aggravating chronic diseases.
“Social connection is an incredibly important part of our overall health,” Moodie said. “It’s as important as weight and smoking. It’s much more important than ever to give it credit as a protective or preventative factor in things like cardiovascular disease. “
The number of delays caused by the pandemic in access to health care was not captured in the census. Moodie was concerned about the thousands of Australians who had undergone delayed screening tests for life-threatening conditions such as cancer, which plummeted in the early stages of the pandemic.
“It will definitely come,” Moodie said.
Jo Hall was diagnosed with delayed oral cancer after a persistent toothache, clearing her symptoms as she adapted to pandemic conditions. Credit: Scott McNaughton
Victorian woman Jo Hall is one of thousands of Australians who had been diagnosed with delayed cancer. His toothache lasted a year before he was diagnosed with oral cancer.
Working from home in his public service job during the Melbourne closures of 2020 and 2021, Hall said he “eliminated his symptoms” due to the turbulence of adapting to the conditions of the pandemic.
Initially, his dentist told the 58-year-old woman that a wisdom tooth was causing her persistent toothache. But eight months later, he was still experiencing sore mouth. She noticed a growth in the gum cavity and went back to the dentist, who referred her to an oral surgeon.
“I think the dentist knew then that it was cancer,” said Hall, who is now recovering from the disease. “What started out as something that wasn’t important, suddenly became the most important thing.”
On August 10 last year, millions of people across Australia were asked to reveal any long-term health issues from a list of nine conditions: arthritis, diabetes, heart attack, asthma, lung disease or kidney, stroke, cancer and mental health.
“It’s a very smart move to collect this data,” Moodie said. “During the pandemic we have been talking about potentially deadly communicable diseases that happen very quickly. This is quite the opposite of the other major chronic disease pandemics that have occurred in our world over the last 20 years.”
He warned that the actual extent of chronic disease was probably much higher in Australia than reflected in the census.
“There would be more cases of high blood pressure or diabetes that people don’t know about yet,” Moodie said.
“It’s so important that we do more to try to prevent chronic disease. Australia’s weight focus has been an absolute disaster for the last 15 years and the ultra-processed junk food industry has completely sunk any effective public health intervention.”
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Prior to winning the federal election, the Labor Party pledged to establish an Australian Center for Disease Control, promising that the dedicated body would have the capacity to monitor current and emerging threats and work with state governments and medical providers to prepare for the next crisis.
Moodie said the center should also address long-term non-communicable diseases, which are leaving millions of Australians with chronic pain and causing them to die prematurely.
“Whether it’s cancer, heart disease, musculoskeletal problems or diabetes, these are problems that take years into people’s lives,” he said.
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