Maori in the Southern District Health Board region are 62% more likely than non-Maori to die from a potentially avoidable condition, a new report reveals.
Maori health profiles for the 20 district health boards were released this week.
Avoidable death refers to deaths that could be prevented through population-level action, as well as treatment at an individual level.
The all-cause mortality rate for Maori in Southern from 2008-12 was 36% higher than the non-Maori rate.
In 2013, 10% of Maori adults in Southern reported having often put up with feeling cold to keep costs down in the previous 12 months, 9% had gone without fresh fruit and vegetables, and 13% had often put off a visit to the doctor, the report said.
Smoking rates remained nearly twice as high for Maori as for non-Maori.
In 2013, 29,200 Maori lived in the Southern District Health Board region, and their median age was 23.8.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Health, the reports were produced by the Eru Pomare Maori Health Research Centre at the University of Otago in Wellington.
Lead researcher Bridget Robson said the profiles would help health boards make decisions about health spending.
''The profiles remind us that stark inequalities in health continue. They provide a useful base for identifying key issues and planning actions to improve Maori health,'' she said.
