Public Health

The Chief Medical Officer and the four Directors of Public Health Medicine agreed on a set of Core Tables which will be included in each annual Director of Public Health report. This commentary highlights some of the content of the Core Tables, but is not a comprehensive description of each individual table.

Tables 1a and 1b show the estimated population within the Eastern Health and Social Services Board (EHSSB) in 2005 based on the 2001 Census and mid year calculations.

Tables 2a and 2b show the projected population for selected years (2010 and 2015) these projections are based on the 2001 Census. The overall size of the population is not projected to change significantly but this masks a fall in the numbers of children and the increase in the number of people aged 65 and over.

Table 3 shows the number of live and stillbirths within EHSSB. The total numbers of live and stillbirths have fluctuated over the last 5 years.

Table 4 shows the number of total births (live and still) by district council area. The number of births has fallen since 1990 withn each District Council Area. Recently, the number of births has fluctuated slightly from year to year. The number of births to mothers not resident in Northern Ireland has decreased again in 2005, but remain high compared to the early 1990s.

Table 5 shows the Total Period Fertility Rates or TPFR (overall measure of fertility rates). The TPFR fell slightly in 2005, compared to 2004. The TPFR of 1.72 is below that reported for England in the years 2003-05. Fertility rates fell in 2005 compared to 2004 for women in all age groups except those aged less than 25 years and over 45 years.

Tables 6a and 6b show the number of live and stillbirths by birth weight. In 2005 there was a small increase in the proportion of low birthweight live births.

Table 7 shows the number and rate of perinatal, neonatal, and infant deaths in the EHSSB area. The rates in all four categories increased in 2005, compared to 2004 and are higher than the Northern Ireland average.

Table 8 shows Standardised Mortality Ratios for children aged 1-14 years by Health Board area and N Ireland in 2001-2005. For all causes of death the SMR in the Eastern Board area is higher than that for Northern Ireland as a whole, while the SMR for accidents is lower.

Table 9a shows Standardised Death Rates for Males and Females within EHSSB area for those aged between 15 and 74 years. These rates are standardised to the N Ireland population. Death Rates for All Causes continue to fall for both males and females. Male deaths due to cancer of the colon and lung, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease and ischaemic hear disease all continue to decrease. However, death rate for suicide is the highest recorded in the last 15 years. During this time period deaths due to road traffic collision in men, aged 15-74 years, increased. Female deaths for specific causes decreaed in 2005 with the exception of cancer of the stomach which increased slightly from 2004.

Table 9b as table 9a, however, rates are standardised to the European Population to allow direct comparison with areas outside Northern Ireland.

Table 10a gives the number of deaths by cause and within each of the different age groups.

Table 10b shows the Potential years of Life Lost from each of the listed causes of death within the EHSSB area by gender. Potential Life Years Lost is a measure which gives a greater weight to deaths occurring at younger age groups.

Table 11 shows the Expectation of Life within N Ireland at three stages of life, at birth, one year and at 65 years old. Life Expectancy has increased dramatically since the beginning of the last century. In 2003/05 male life expectancy exceeds 75 years and female life expectancy 80 years in Northern Ireland. There is some evidence of a gradual closing of the gap between male and female life expectancy.

Table 12 and 13 refer to Infectious Disease occurrence and prevention. The EHSSB area experienced an outbreak of Mumps commencing during 2004. Notified cases of mumps in 2004 were 244 rising to 1908 in 2005. Since 1998, MMR vaccination rates have been below 90%. An increase in uptake rates occured in both 2004 and 2005.

Tables 14a and 14b give details of the number and birth prevalence of major categories of congenital abnormality in the Eastern Board area. The birth prevalence of Down Syndrome in women aged 30 years and over in the Eastern Board area increased during 2001-2005, compared to 1996-2000.