Mortality from non-communicable diseases in South Africa, 1997-2009

There are estimates of the magnitude of non-communicable disease deaths for less developed countries but little is known about the dynamics in Africa. The continent is undergoing unprecedented growth of the elderly population. This raises the need to examine mortality from non-communicable diseases. This study examines mortality attributable to non-communicable diseases in South Africa during the period 1997-2009. The data used are the death records for the period 1997-2009. Standardised crude death rates were computed. Logistic regression was used to examine the odds of dying from non-communicable diseases controlling for covariates. The results indicate that cardiovascular diseases had the highest death rate as immediate or underlying causes of death during the period 1997-2009. Sex, level of education and the type of industry of employment as well as the smoking status of the deceased were found to be significantly associated with the odds of dying from non-communicable diseases in South Africa.