Northern Ireland health survey report published

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has published its ‘Health Survey Northern Ireland: First Results 2013/14’ report.

The Health Survey Northern Ireland is conducted annually and covers a wide range of health topics. The 2013/14 survey included questions relating to general health, longstanding illness, diet and nutrition, food security, smoking, alcohol, obesity, physical activity, child health, mental health and well-being, and sexual health.

Key Findings

Results from the Health Survey Northern Ireland 2013/14 show that:

• Around three-quarters of respondents (73%) described their health as being good or very good. Almost two-fifths (38%) reported having a longstanding illness, with almost three-quarters of these (73%) stating that it limited their activities to some extent.
• Around one-fifths of respondents (19%) scored highly on the GHQ12 suggesting they may have a possible mental health problem. A higher proportion of female respondents with a high GHQ12 score (45%) were taking medication for stress/anxiety or depression than males (29%).
• A third of respondents (33%) ate the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, with females (37%) more likely to do so than males (27%).
• Around one-fifth of respondents (22%) were current smokers (23% of males and 21% of females), a reduction in the proportion of overall smoking prevalence from 24% in 2012/13. Smoking prevalence was noticeably higher in the most deprived areas (34%) than in the least deprived areas (12%).
• Around three-quarters of respondents (76%) aged 18 and over stated that they drank alcohol. This was more likely to be true for males (81%) than females (73%). Around a quarter of males (23%) drank above sensible weekly limits, nearly twice the proportion of females (12%). There has been a reduction in the proportion of adults drinking above sensible weekly limits from 19% in 2011/12 to 16% in 2013/14.
• A quarter of adults (24%) were obese with a further two-fifths (37%) classed as overweight. Males (68%) were more likely than females (56%) to be overweight or obese. The proportion of adults classed as overweight or obese has increased from the level reported in 1997 (57%) although it has remained at a relatively constant level since 2005/06.
• Three-quarters of children aged 2-10 were classed as either normal weight or underweight, while 18% were classed as overweight and 7% were classed as obese. The proportion of children classified as either overweight or obese has not changed since 2005/06.
• Over half of respondents (53%) aged 19 and over met the recommendations of 150 or more minutes of at least moderate activity per week (or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week or a combination of both moderate and vigorous). Respondents who were inactive were twice as likely to score highly on the GHQ12 scale (31%) than those who met the physical activity recommendations (13%).
• Over four-fifths of females (85%) and 79% of males felt it was necessary to use condoms with a new partner even if they were using another form of contraception. Whilst 74% of females indicated that they would not have sex with a new partner if they did not have any, the corresponding figure for males was 57%.

This publication is available online at: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/statistics/lcb.htm