This chapter looks at some of the common issues highlighted as indicators of better health outcomes. Indicators of better health outcomes include the use of a health preventive service (for example, getting one’s blood pressure or cholesterol checked), and part of it relates to some of the choices we make as individuals around alcohol consumption and exercise for example. It is important to again mention that caution should be exercised around some of the following data. This survey is a self-reported one, where the respondent reported their behaviour to an interviewer on, for example, smoking and alcohol consumption. It is likely that at least some of the answers provided were influenced by how the data was collected.
As will be seen, older people are more likely to have used a health preventive service but are less likely to exercise. Older people and females are the most likely to have taken a flu vaccine in the 12 months prior to survey. Non-Irish nationals are less likely than Irish people to drink larger quantities of alcohol in the one sitting, but are more likely to be smokers. Females are less likely than males to be overweight or obese, and over half of persons aged 15 years and over in the State are reported by the people themselves as being overweight or obese.
For the preventive services of Blood pressure measuring, Blood cholesterol measuring and Blood sugar measuring, it can be seen that females are more likely than males to have accessed the preventive service concerned. For example, 73% of females had their Blood pressure measured in the 12 months prior to survey, compared to 60% of males. For the preventive services of Faecal occult test and Colonoscopy, more males than females have used these services, but the differences between males and females are quite narrow. For example, 5% of males had a Colonoscopy compared to 4% of females within the previous 12 months of the survey. See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1.
| Male | Female | |
| Had a flu vaccination | 34 | 40 |
| Had blood pressure measured | 60 | 73 |
| Had blood cholesterol measured | 49 | 56 |
| Had blood sugar measured | 49 | 57 |
| Had a Faecal Occult Test | 12 | 11 |
| Had a colonoscopy | 5 | 4 |
Older people, across the preventive services presented in Table 4.1, are more likely than younger people to have used a preventive service. As regards getting Blood cholesterol measured, it can be seen that 87% of persons aged 75 years and over had it measured in the previous 12 months compared to 20% of persons aged 15-24 years. See Table 4.1.
Also, across the preventive services highlighted, there is very little difference in the use of these services by relative disadvantage level. For example, 6% of Very disadvantaged persons report having a Colonoscopy in the 12 months prior to survey, compared to 5% of Very affluent persons. See Table 4.1.
At State level, 37% of persons aged 15 years and over report receiving a flu vaccine in the 12 months prior to survey. Older people report higher levels than younger people, for example, 83% of persons aged 75 years and over report receiving a flu vaccine in the previous 12 months compared to 25% of persons aged 15-24 years. See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.2.
| Had a flu vaccination | |
| 15-24 | 25 |
| 25-34 | 29 |
| 35-44 | 29 |
| 45-54 | 27 |
| 55-64 | 40 |
| 65-74 | 62 |
| 75+ | 83 |
Females (40%) report higher levels of flu vaccine take-up than men (34%), with persons in the Dublin region reporting the highest levels at 40% of persons aged 15 years and over in that region, compared to 31% of persons aged 15 years and over in the Border region. See Table 4.1.
Close to a fifth (19%) of females aged 15 years and over had a Cervical smear test in the 12 months prior to survey, with the age group 35-44 years recording the highest levels at 34%. Please note that the Cervical Check screening service is targeted at females aged 25-65 years. See Table 4.2.
At a regional level, females in Dublin record the highest percentage as having a Cervical smear test at 23%, with females in the South-East region reporting the lowest at 15% of females aged 15 years and over in that region. In terms of relative disadvantage, 22% of Very affluent females report having a Cervical smear test compared to 17% of Very disadvantaged females. See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.3.
| Region | Had a cervical smear test |
|---|---|
| Border | 16 |
| Midland | 22 |
| West | 20 |
| Dublin | 23 |
| Mid-East | 18 |
| Mid-West | 18 |
| South-East | 15 |
| South-West | 17 |
As regards having a Mammogram, 13% of females report having had one in the 12 months prior to survey. The peak age group for having a Mammogram is the age group 55-64 years where 35% of females reported having had one in the 12 months prior to survey. See Table 4.2.
In general, physical activity declines with age and relative disadvantage, with younger and more affluent people more likely to exercise across the broad areas measured of Walking, Cycling, Doing sports, fitness or recreational physical activities and Muscle strengthening exercises. For example, 90% of 15-24 year olds Walk to get to and from places compared to 81% of 55-64 year olds. For performing Muscle strengthening exercises, only 16% of persons aged 55-64 year olds perform this, compared to 41% of persons aged 25-34 year olds. See Table 4.3 and Figure 4.4.
| Age Group | Do muscle-strengthening activities |
|---|---|
| 15-24 | 43 |
| 25-34 | 41 |
| 35-44 | 31 |
| 45-54 | 23 |
| 55-64 | 16 |
| 65-74 | 13 |
| 75+ | 8 |
As regards relative disadvantage, more affluent people report being engaged in physical activity than those more disadvantaged. This is generally common across the broad areas measured of walking, cycling, doing sports or fitness work and muscle strengthening exercises. As regards Doing sports, fitness or recreational physical activities, 68% of Very affluent persons report engaging in this as opposed to 40% of Very disadvantaged persons. Unemployed persons report lower levels of Doing sports, fitness or recreational physical activities than those In employment, with 41% of Unemployed persons engaged in these activities compared to 58% of those In employment. See Table 4.3.
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The text in this section, Table 4.4 and Figure 4.5 have been revised on 03/11/21 due to a computational error. |
Affluent persons report higher prevalence levels of alcohol consumption than disadvantaged persons, with 83% of Very affluent persons reporting that they drink alcohol compared to 71% of Very disadvantaged persons. See Table 4.4 and Figure 4.5.
| Drinks alcohol | |
| Very disadvantaged | 71 |
| Disadvantaged | 72 |
| Average | 76 |
| Affluent | 79 |
| Very affluent | 83 |
Alcohol consumption is highest in the 25-34 and 35-44 years age groups (84% of these age groups consuming alcohol), with the age group 75 years and over reporting the lowest levels of alcohol consumption (53%). See Table 4.5.
Smoking is more prevalent in the non-Irish national community than for Irish nationals, with 19% of non-Irish nationals reporting daily smoking compared to 13% of Irish nationals. The 25-34 years old age group report the highest levels for smoking with over a quarter (27%) reporting they smoke daily or occasionally. The 75 years and over age group report the lowest levels of smoking, with 8% smoking daily or occasionally. See Table 4.4.
Over half (55%) the State aged 15 years and over report consuming 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, with females reporting higher levels than men (58% of females compared to 51% of men). The oldest age group (aged 75 years and over) reports the lowest levels for consuming 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day at 47% of this age group, compared to 59% of the 55-64 years age group. See Table 4.4.
The age group 15-24 years report the highest levels for drinking of 6 or more units of alcohol in one sitting at least once a month, with almost half (48%) of this age group reporting so. This compares to only 11% of the 75 years and over age group who so drink. See Table 4.5 and Figure 4.6.
| Age Group | At least once a month |
|---|---|
| 15-24 | 48 |
| 25-34 | 44 |
| 35-44 | 32 |
| 45-54 | 28 |
| 55-64 | 24 |
| 65-74 | 23 |
| 75+ | 11 |
More men (37%) than women (28%) report drinking 6 or more units of alcohol in one sitting at least once a month.
In terms of never drinking this level of alcohol (6 or more units in the one sitting) or not drinking this level in the last 12 months, older people and non-Irish nationals report higher levels of not drinking like this. 77% of persons aged 75 years and over report never drinking like this, compared to 24% of persons aged 15-24 years old. Non-Irish nationals report higher levels (46%) of never drinking like this or in the last 12 months, compared to 34% of Irish nationals. See Table 4.5.
Respondents were asked their weight and height from which a Body Mass Index (BMI) was then calculated. Based on this, respondents reported that over half of them (56%) were overweight or obese (with over a quarter, 26%, registering as obese alone). See Table 4.6 and Figure 4.7.
| State | |
| Underweight | 4 |
| Normal weight | 41 |
| Overweight | 30 |
| Obese | 26 |
Males (61%) are more likely to be overweight or obese than females (49%), and older people are generally more likely to be overweight than younger people. The age group 65-74 years report that two-thirds (66%) of them are overweight or obese, over twice the levels for persons aged 15-24 years (31%). See Table 4.6.
While all classes of affluence / disadvantage indicate that around 55% of those groups report as being overweight or obese, the Very disadvantaged group report the highest levels of being overweight or obese at 58% of that group. See Table 4.6.
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