Confirming previous studies summarised on this site, reports issued this year by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show that the health of Australian children continues to improve, and that while males generally are less healthy than women, their problems have nothing to do with lack of circumcision. Most strikingly, the infant mortality rate has more than halved since 1986, the very period during which the incidence of routine circumcision fell from around 40 per cent of boys under 6 months to around 12 per cent today. The most serious child health problems identified by the report are asthma, lack of breast feeding, and arising from social factors such as poverty and Aboriginality.
These reports offer good empirical proof that “lack of circumcision” does not increase child health problems. Even more significantly, it is a decisive refutation of “scientific” predictions by various antiquated circumcision enthusiasts that the fall in the circumcision rate would lead to an explosion of genito-urinary problems in boys. No such problems are identified in these reports, which do not even mention any health problems affecting the genito-urinary area.
If we were to be as unscrupulous in mixing up correlation with causation as many pro-circumcision zealots tend to be, we could reasonably conclude that Australian children have become healthier because the incidence of circumcision has fallen, not merely at the same time. But there is no need to go that far. At the very least, A Picture of Australia’s children is definitive proof that there is zero connection between circumcision and improved child health outcomes. The reporst tells a similar story with male health, finding that the main risk factors for poor health problems to be living in remote or country areas; being poor; getting old; and being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. None of these social factors has anything to do with circumcision.
Further information on this site
Circumcision and public health
Health of Australia’s males: Summary
This report is the second in a series on the health of Australia’s males. It examines the distinct health profiles of five population groups, characterised by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, remoteness, socioeconomic disadvantage, region of birth, and age.
Key findings
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males generally experience poorer health than the overall population, highlighted by a life expectancy of 67 years (11.5 years less than that for non-Indigenous males). Factors that contribute to this poorer health status include:
- high rates of tobacco smoking, risky alcohol consumption and illicit substance usage;
- higher rates of chronic diseases (such as lung cancer, diabetes and kidney disease) and health conditions (such as scabies, trachoma and acute rheumatic fever) that are uncommon in the general population;
- higher rates of hospitalisation, with 45% of these for dialysis.
Remoteness is associated with poorer health. Males living in remote areas generally have a shorter life expectancy and poorer self-assessed health status. As remoteness increases, the following health-related factors also increase:
- rates of obesity, tobacco smoking and risky alcohol consumption;
- new cases of lung cancer, and deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and suicide;
- hospitalisations for Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Socioeconomic disadvantage is also associated with poorer health. Males living in more socially disadvantaged areas generally have a shorter life expectancy. As socioeconomic disadvantage increases, the following health-related factors also increase:
- rates of obesity and tobacco smoking;
- new cases of lung cancer, and deaths from coronary heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive;
- pulmonary disease, diabetes and suicide;
- hospitalisations for Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Males born overseas generally enjoy better health than other males, with fewer risk factors and lower overall mortality and hospitalisations. There are areas where males born overseas experience poorer health, compared with males born in Australia, with:
- lower rates of physical activity and bowel cancer screening;
- higher rates of lung cancer, and more deaths from diabetes and lung cancer;
- higher rates of hospitalisations for Type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart attack.
Older males (aged 65 and over) are living longer than ever before, and generally have fewer risk factors such as overweight/obesity and tobacco smoking than younger males. As age increases, the following health-related factors also increase:
- inadequate vegetable intakes and inadequate physical activity;
- new cases of bowel cancer and melanoma, and rates of dementia and of injury from falls;
- all hospitalisations, including cardiac rehabilitation, cataract and melanoma of the skin.
The AIHW is a major national agency set up by the Australian Government to provide reliable, regular and relevant information and statistics on Australia's health and welfare.
The full report can be downloaded from the AIHW website
Health of Aussie kids continues to improve as incidence of circumcision declines
Infant deaths halved since 1986
A picture of Australia's children 2012 provides the latest information on the health and wellbeing of Australia's children aged 0-14. Many are faring well, but there is scope for further gains, particularly among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and those living in areas with the lowest socioeconomic status.
The good news
Death rates for infants (aged under 1) and children (aged 1-14) more than halved between 1986 and 2010, with rates slightly ahead of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average for infants, and equal to the average for children under 5. Notably, child deaths from injuries halved between 1997 and 2010.
The prevalence of asthma has decreased, while the incidences of diabetes and cancer have remained stable.
Almost three-quarters of children aged 0-2 have stories read or told to them regularly, and most children achieve above the national minimum standard for reading and numeracy. Australia's average score for mathematics was in the top half of OECD countries.
Smoking in households with children has decreased, while rates of risky drinking and smoking among children have declined.
Most parents rate their health as excellent, or (very) good, and the majority of households with children perceive their neighbourhood as safe. Most households with children, including Indigenous, reported that they could get assistance from outside the household in times of crisis.
Areas where improvement needed
Around 1 in 7 women smoked during pregnancy, and about half of pregnant women drank alcohol.
Exclusive breastfeeding was initiated for 90% of infants at birth; however only 2 in 5 infants were exclusively breastfed to around 4 months.
An estimated 45% of children aged 6 and 39% of children aged 12 experienced dental decay.
Almost a quarter of children were developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains of the Australian Early Development Index at school entry.
About 15% of parents were affected by mental health problems.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experience higher death rates, including from injuries, than the national average. They were less likely to have achieved the reading and numeracy minimum standards, and had higher smoking rates than the general child population.
Children living in the lowest socioeconomic status (SES) areas were less likely to have stories read or told to them regularly, more likely to be exposed to tobacco smoke in the home, and more likely to smoke themselves than children living in the highest SES areas.
Teenage birth rates were higher in the lowest SES areas than in the highest SES areas, and parents living in the lowest SES areas were more likely to report fair/poor health and poorer mental health compared with those in the highest SES areas.
AIHW media release
Most Aussie kids doing well, room for further gains
Most Australian children are doing well in terms of their health and wellbeing, but there is room for improvement for some, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The report, A picture of Australia's children 2012, shows that death rates for infants and children halved since 1986, the prevalence of asthma among children has dropped, and rates of risky drinking and smoking among children aged 12-14 are down. Smoking in households with children has also dropped.
Almost three-quarters of children aged 0-2 have stories read or told to them regularly and most children achieve above the national minimum standard for reading and numeracy. The majority of households with children in Australia perceive their neighbourhood as safe. Most households also reported that they could get assistance from outside the household in times of crisis. “The report indeed shows that most Australian children are faring well, but despite this good news, there are several areas where improvements could be made,” said AIHW spokesperson Dr Fadwa Al-Yaman. For example, while exclusive breastfeeding was initiated for 90% of infants at birth, only 40% of infants were exclusively breastfed to around 4 months (exclusive breastfeeding is recommended to 6 months). Around 45% of children aged 6 have dental decay, as do 39% of children aged 12. The report also shows that almost one-quarter of children are developmentally vulnerable at school entry.
About 7% of Australian children had a disability in 2009 and, of these, over half had profound or severe core activity limitations. The most common disability types among children were intellectual, affecting 161,600 children (3.9%), and sensory/speech (119,100 children or 2.9%). Injury and cancer are the two leading causes of death in children. In 2008-2010, injuries contributed to 662 deaths of children-a rate of 5 per 100,000 children. Infants (aged less than one year) had the highest rate of injury death (11 per 100,000 infants). Over the period 2004-2008, an average of 583 new cases of cancer were diagnosed annually among children, and in 2008-2010, there were 274 cancer deaths among children-a rate of 2.2 per 100,000 children. This accounted for around 5% of all child deaths.
Additional challenges exist among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children living in areas of low socioeconomic status. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experience higher death rates than the national average. They also had higher smoking rates than the general child population and were less likely to have achieved reading and numeracy minimum standards.
Children in the lowest socioeconomic status (SES) areas were less likely to be read to on a regular basis than children living in the highest SES areas, and their parents were more likely to report poorer physical and mental health.
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