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4363.0.55.001 - Australian Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2011-13  
Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/12/2012   
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Contents >> Health risk factors

HEALTH RISK FACTORS


INTRODUCTION

A range of genetic, social, economic and environmental factors are recognised as affecting the risk of ill-health, i.e. the chance an individual has of developing a particular illness or injury. Specific lifestyle and related factors which have been identified as positively and/or negatively impacting health include diet and nutrition, use of medicines, being overweight or obese, physical activity, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use.

It is not possible, and in some cases inappropriate, in a survey such as the AHS to attempt to address the whole range of factors likely to affect health. The approach taken in this survey was to focus on selected lifestyle-related health risk factors identified through consultations with health professionals, administrators and policy makers as major issues of concern, and considered appropriate for inclusion in an interview survey of this type.

Health risk factor topics included in the 2011-12 NHS were:

  • tobacco smoking;
  • alcohol consumption;
  • exercise;
  • body mass and physical measures (e.g. height and waist);
  • dietary behaviours;
  • breast feeding; and,
  • blood pressure.

Other health risks may be indicated through information obtained in the survey about other health and related characteristics, such as the presence of particular long term conditions. The collection of information about health risk factors and behaviours in conjunction with other health and population characteristics enables all elements to be analysed together. However, while data from the survey may suggest apparent associations between particular risk factors and certain medical conditions, the data should not be interpreted as indicating causal relationships.

Some caution should be used in drawing together data for the different risk factors covered, as the reference periods used differ. For example:
  • smoking at time of interview,
  • alcohol consumption in the last week,
  • exercise in the last week.

These time periods were chosen to indicate usual habits.

However, when used with care, data from the NHS can describe populations which may be at special risk due to the presence of combinations of risk factor behaviours and characteristics.

Most of the specific risk factors covered have been addressed in previous ABS surveys, either at national or State/ACT levels. Major changes in the coverage of risk factors between the 2011-12 NHS and the 2007-08 NHS are summarised in the table below.

MEASUREMENT IN 2011-12 AND 2007-08
Topic
Measurement
Smoking
Directly comparable
Alcohol consumption
Similar, with additional questions in 2011-12 added for the 2009 NHMRC guidelines
Exercise
Similar, but 2011-12 only asks questions pertaining to the last week
Height, weight, waist and BMI
Directly comparable
Dietary indicators (Consumption of milk, fruit, vegetables and salt)
Similar, with additional questions
Breastfeeding
Not collected in 2007-08
Blood pressure
Not collected in 2007-08


Where appropriate to the survey vehicle and consistent with the data requirements of users, similar methodologies were employed in the 2011-13 AHS to those used in previous surveys to enhance comparability and enable use of the data for analysing changes over time. Comments regarding comparability between the 2011-12 NHS and 2007-08 NHS are contained in the individual topic descriptions which follow. A more general discussion of time series issues relating to the 1989-90, 1995 and 2001 surveys is contained in Occasional Paper: Health Risk Factors - a Guide to Time Series Comparability from the National Health Survey, Australia (ABS cat. no. 4826.0.55.001).


This section contains the following subsection :
      Tobacco smoking
      Alcohol
      Exercise
      Body mass and physical measures
      Dietary behaviours
      Blood pressure
      Family stressors

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