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Chronic diseases

Socio-economic Position and Chronic Disease Prevalence in Australia

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Research published in the Medical Journal of Australia has explored the relationship between socio-economic position and the prevalence of ten chronic diseases in Australia, utilizing 2021 Australian census data. The study found that the proportions of people who reported specific chronic diseases increased with increasing socio-economic disadvantage, with more marked increases observed for women than men and for those aged 40-79 years. The age-standardised prevalence of certain chronic diseases also demonstrated varying relationships with socio-economic position, age, and sex.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study analyzed 2021 Australian census data to investigate the relationship between socio-economic position and the prevalence of ten chronic diseases in Australia.
  • The research found that the proportions of people who reported nine chronic diseases (exception: cancer) increased with increasing socio-economic disadvantage as measured by Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) decile and income.
  • The increases in chronic disease prevalence were less marked for people aged 80 years or older than for those aged 40-79 years, and more marked for women than men.
  • For people aged 40-59 or 60-79 years, the increase in age-standardised chronic disease prevalence per one decile decrease in IRSD was greatest for lung disease in both women (18.4% per decile) and men (16.9% per decile).
  • The age-standardised prevalence of cancer decreased by 0.4-1.1% per one decile decrease in IRSD for all age groups and both sexes, except for men aged 40-59 years (increased by 0.1% per IRSD decile).
  • The study concluded that understanding the relationship between different socio-economic position measures and chronic diseases facilitates the formulation of directed interventions.
  • The research team included Emily D. Williams, Joanna Y. Gong, Agus Salim, Spiros Fourlanos, Jonathan E. Shaw, and Dianna J. Magliano from King's College London and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Statistics:

  • 11.3 million people aged 40 years or older reported health status responses and data that allowed IRSD categorization (92% of all adults aged 40 years or older).
  • The proportions of people who reported nine chronic diseases (exception: cancer) increased with increasing socio-economic disadvantage as measured by IRSD decile and income (ranging from 6.6% to 25.6% increase across all age groups and sexes).
  • The age-standardised prevalence of cancer decreased by 0.4-1.1% per one decile decrease in IRSD for all age groups and both sexes, except for men aged 40-59 years (increased by 0.1% per IRSD decile).
  • The increase in age-standardised chronic disease prevalence per one decile decrease in IRSD was greatest for lung disease in both women (18.4% per decile) and men (16.9% per decile).

Sources:

  • Socio-economic position and the prevalence of ten chronic diseases in Australia, 2021: a whole of population census data analysis. Medical Journal of Australia, 2025.
  • NewsRx. Findings from King's College London in Chronic Disease Reported (Socio-economic position and the prevalence of ten chronic diseases in Australia, 2021: a whole of population census data analysis). Mental Health Weekly Digest. September 1, 2025; p 193.

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