'Stark inequalities' in health

HEALTH: Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia at Fernridge School, Masterton, in 2004. He died in 2013, aged 62.

Wairarapa Maori are more than two-and-a-half times more likely than non-Maori to die of treatable illnesses, according to a comprehensive new report.

The Wairarapa District Health Board Maori Health Profile 2015 is among 20 profiles commissioned by the Ministry of Health for health boards nationwide. Lead researcher Bridget Robson said the profiles were a reminder of the "stark inequalities in health".

"They provide a useful base for identifying key issues and planning actions to improve Maori health," Ms Robson said.

Amenable mortality was 2.6 times as high for Wairarapa Maori as for non-Maori, or 119 more deaths per 100,000, according to the Wairarapa profile.

The avoidable hospitalisation rate was 40 per cent higher for Maori than for non-Maori. That equates to more than 400 hospital admissions per year which were potentially avoidable.

Between 2008 and 2012 the rate of death from all causes was 87 per cent higher for Maori than non-Maori.

Maori females have a life expectancy of 78.6 years, 5.3 years lower than non-Maori females. Maori males have a life expectancy of 74.7 years, 5.6 years lower than for non-Maori males.

Maori females were most likely to die from ischaemic heart disease (IHD), lung cancer, stroke, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

In the 10 years to 2011, the incidence of cancer among Maori females was two-thirds higher than it was for other females. Their rate of lung cancer was four times the rate for other women. Cancers of the digestive organs and breast were the most common causes of cancer death for Maori women between 2007 and 2011.

Maori males were most likely to die from IHD, diabetes, accidents, lung cancer and COPD.

The most common cancers for Maori males were lung, prostate and colorectal, with cancers of the lung and digestive organs the most common causes of cancer death.

In 2013, 7010 Maori lived in the Wairarapa District Health Board region. They comprised 17 per cent of the district's total population.

The Wairarapa Maori population was youthful, but showing signs of ageing, the profile said. In 2013, the median age was 24 years.

The profile also showed:

- More than 100 hospitalisations per year of Maori children were potentially avoidable through preventative or treatment intervention in primary care.

- Maori were 63 per cent more likely than non-Maori to be admitted to hospital for a mental disorder during 2011-2013. Schizophrenia-related disorders were the most common disorders, followed by substance-use disorders.

- In 2013, 45 per cent of Maori adults aged 18 years or over had at least a Level 2 Certificate, a higher proportion than in 2006 (37 per cent) but still lower than non-Maori (63 per cent).

- In 2013, 11 per cent of Wairarapa Maori adults aged 15 years and over were unemployed, compared to 6 per cent of non-Maori.

- Smoking rates are decreasing but remained twice as high for Maori (38 per cent) as for non-Maori (19 per cent) in 2013.

- Wairarapa residents living in Maori households were three times as likely as others to be in crowded homes.

- In 2013, Maori were more likely than non-Maori to look after someone without pay who was disabled or ill, within or outside of the home.NZME