Background
The study is the first to take a population-based approach to analysing the leading causes of death among serving and ex-serving ADF personnel.
Aim
The study identifies the leading causes of death among serving and ex-serving ADF personnel with at least one day of service between 2002 and 2015 and determines if any cohorts are at a greater risk of death from particular causes in comparison to the equivalent Australian population.
Methods
The study population was derived using data linkage. Linking existing data, for example administrative data, cost-effectively maximises the use of data while enabling population-based analysis. The study population was derived from linking administrative data from the Department of Defence with mortality data held by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to determine the number of deceased personnel.
Counts were used to identify the leading causes of death among serving and ex-serving ADF personnel. Crude rates and standardised mortality rates were used to compare cohorts of ADF personnel and identify whether or not any have a higher risk of death in comparison to the Australian population of the same age and sex.
Results
The cause of death results are not due for public release until later in 2018. It is anticipated that these results will be presented at the conference.
Conclusion
The results from this analysis may help to further inform policy and develop interventions to reduce the rates of death for particular leading causes among serving and ex-serving ADF personnel.