Health Survey Northern Ireland: first results from the 2010/11 survey

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has published the first bulletin from the Health Survey Northern Ireland 2010/11.
~ Tuesday, 15 November 2011

This survey is a new DHSSPS survey that will run every year on a continuous basis. The survey covers a range of health topics that are important to the lives of people in Northern Ireland today.

Key Findings

• The majority (85%) of respondents in Northern Ireland indicated that their health has been good or fairly good in the previous 12 months.
• Thirty-seven percent of respondents reported that they have a long-standing illness, that is, something that has troubled them over a period of time or is likely to affect them over a period of time. Similar proportions were found for males and females, 35% and 38% respectively.
• When asked how satisfied they were with their life in general, the majority of respondents (88%) indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied.
• Respondents were asked about the life they lead, with around nine in 10 respondents describing their life as either very healthy or fairly healthy (89%).
• Parents were asked about the health of their children. For the majority (94%) of children, parents reported that their health generally is good or very good.
• A third of respondents reported consuming five or more portions of fruit or vegetables a day with females more likely to be meeting this guideline than males (36% and 27% respectively).
• When asked if they had changed their eating habits in the past three years in order to lose weight, 39% of respondents indicated that they had. Females (43%) were more likely to have changed their eating habits in order to lose weight than males (34%).
• Fifty-nine percent of adults measured were either overweight (36%) or obese (23%). A similar proportion of males and females were obese (23%) however males were more likely to be overweight (44%) than females (30%).
• In relation to children, aged 2-15 years, 8% were assessed as being obese based on the International Obesity Task Force guidelines, 8% of boys and 9% of girls.
• Twenty-four percent of respondents indicated that they currently smoke, 25% of males and 23% of females.
• Around 8 in 10 current smokers have tried to quit smoking at some stage and around two-thirds of current smokers indicated that they were planning to quit smoking.
• Seventy-seven percent of respondents, aged 18 and over, indicated that they drink alcohol, 81% of males and 74% of females. Twenty percent reported drinking in excess of the sensible drinking limits (outlined by the Department of Health as 21 units per week for males and 14 units per week for females). Around a quarter of males (27%) drank above sensible limits compared with 16% of females.
• Thirty-eight percent of respondents were classified as meeting the recommended level of physical activity (at the time of this survey, the Chief Medical Officer guidelines were 30 minutes of moderate activity on at least 5 days a week). Males were more likely than females to be meeting the recommended level (44% and 35% respectively).
• When asked about the amount of stress experienced over the previous 12 months, 40% of respondents indicated that they had experienced a great deal or quite a lot of worry or stress (12% had experienced a great deal and 27% had experienced quite a lot).
• One in five respondents showed signs of a possible mental health problem by scoring highly on the GHQ12, with females (23%) more likely to show signs of a possible mental health problem than males (17%).
• Fourteen percent of respondents indicated that they cared for someone else on an informal basis with females more likely to be carers than males (17% and 10% respectively).

Notes to editors:

1. This bulletin presents the first results from the 2010/11 Health Survey Northern Ireland. This is a new survey that will run every year on a continuous basis and will cover a range of health topics.

2. The fieldwork for the survey was conducted by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency’s Central Survey Unit and covered the period April 2010 to March 2011. Data were collected using Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) and where appropriate Computer Assistant Self Interviewing (CASI) from those aged 16 and over in private households in Northern Ireland. The final achieved sample was 4,085 individuals and the response rate was 62%.

3. Physical measurements of height and weight were sought from individuals aged two and over in participating households.

4. The results presented in this bulletin are based on information that has been weighted by age and sex, in order to reflect the composition of the general population in Northern Ireland.

5. Definitions relating to the statistics release are detailed below:

• Adult obesity levels were estimated using the Body Mass Index. This is a widely used indicator of body fat levels which is calculated from a person’s height and weight. BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight (in kilograms) by the square of their height (in metres). In adults, a BMI between 25 and 29.9kg/m2 is considered overweight and a BMI of 30kg/m2 is considered obese.
• Child obesity: the calculation of Body Mass Index in children depends on the age and sex of the child as well as their height and weight. The findings presented in this bulletin are based on the guidelines put forward by the International Obesity Task Force.
• Levels of alcohol consumption can be banded into weekly guidelines for sensible drinking. On a weekly basis, males drinking 21 units or less are considered to be within sensible limits and females drinking 14 units or less are considered to be within sensible limits.
• The short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used in this survey. The calculations to assess whether an individual meets the guidelines issued by the Chief Medical Officer (during the fieldwork of this survey the recommended guidelines for adult physical activity were 30 minutes of moderate activity on at least five days a week) took into consideration the amount of time and the number of days on which individuals undertook vigorous, moderate or brisk walking activities. Due to difficulties in establishing an aggregated time for an individual day, the calculation includes those individuals who undertook 30 minutes of vigorous activity on five days a week or 30 minutes of moderate activity on five days a week or 30 minutes of brisk walking but not a cumulative combination of these activities. This is consistent with the approach taken in the previous Northern Ireland Health & Social Wellbeing Survey (2005/06).
• General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) is designed to detect the possibility of psychiatric morbidity in the general population. People are asked to respond to 12 questions about general levels of happiness, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance. A score is constructed from their responses, with a score of four or more being classified as respondents with a possible psychiatric disorder, and is referred to as a ‘high GHQ12 score’.
• Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale asks people to indicate how often they have felt a certain way on a range of items, such as feeling optimistic, feeling relaxed, thinking clearly, feeling confident, and feeling cheerful. A score is then assigned (minimum score of 14 and maximum score of 70) and the higher a person’s score, the better their level of mental wellbeing.

6. This publication is available online

7. Additional information is available from:

Public Health Information and Research Branch
Information and Analysis Directorate
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Annex 2
Castle Buildings
Stormont
Belfast BT4 3SQ
Telephone: 028 9052 2340
Fax: 028 9052 3288
E-mail: PHIRB@dhsspsni.gov.uk

8. Media queries about this press release to DHSSPS Press Office on 02890 520571, or out of office hours contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.