Welsh Health Survey 2005/06

The Release
Statistical Release 112/2007 (PDF 207kB)

The Bulletin
Statistical Bulletin 35/2007 (PDF 232kB)

Tables (MS Excel 429kB)

Results from the third year of the Welsh Health Survey (November 2005 to October 2006) were published on 30 August 2007. Topics covered are health status, illnesses and other conditions, health-related lifestyle, and health service use. Results are based on a sample survey.

SB 35/2007 supplements the national report and uses data combined from the 2004/05 and 2005/06 surveys to present results at local authority level, for a selection of measures covered in the survey. Combining two years of data improves the precision of the estimates due to the larger sample size used.  

Key Results for 2005/06

Health status, illnesses and other conditions

• 16% of adults reported that their health in general was excellent, 34% very good, 29% good, 16% fair, and 6% poor.
• 20% of adults reported currently being treated for high blood pressure, 14% for a respiratory illness, 13% for arthritis, 12% for back pain, 9% for a heart condition (other than high blood pressure), 9% for a mental illness and 6% for diabetes.
• 11% of children were reported as being treated for asthma and 11% for a skin complaint.
• 27% of adults and 4% of children were reported as having a limiting long-term illness.

Health-related lifestyle

• 25% of adults reported that they currently smoked.
• 66% of adult non-smokers reported being regularly exposed to other people's tobacco smoke.
• 39% of adults reported that they usually drank more than the daily guidelines for alcohol (on days when they drank), and 19% reported binge-drinking on at least one day in the past week.
• 42% of adults reported eating five or more portions of fruit and vegetables the previous day, and 31% reported meeting the guidelines for physical activity in the past week.
• 56% of adults were classified as overweight or obese, including 19% classified as obese.

Health service use

• 17% of adults reported that they had talked to a GP about their own health in the past two weeks, and 20% reported attending a hospital outpatient department in the past three months.
• 79% of adults reported using a pharmacist in the past twelve months, 67% a dentist and 46% an optician.

Contact:
Tel: 029 2082 6710
E-mail: stats.healthinfo@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next Update:
August 2008 (provisional - to be confirmed on the Due Out Soon page)