COMPARISON OF FIRST RESULTS AND UPDATED RESULTS

Results in this publication are from a combined data file of both the NHS and NNPAS (referred to as the Core) and relate to the following topics:

• Self assessed health

• Selected long-term health conditions
  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Heart disease
  • Kidney disease

• Selected health risk factors
  • Overweight and obesity
  • Tobacco smoking
  • Blood pressure
  • Daily intake of fruit and vegetables

Information on these topics was first published from the NHS sample only (20,500 people) in the Australian Health Survey: First Results (4364.0.55.001) publication. The results in this Updated Results publication are based on the combined NHS and NNPAS sample of approximately 32,000 people (known as the Core). With a larger sample size, the Core provides more accurate estimates and allows for analysis at a finer level of disaggregation. For more information on the structure of the AHS, see Structure of the Australian Health Survey.

In terms of conceptual changes, there are two main differences between the First Results and the Updated Results:

• Updated Results include data for persons aged 2 years and over, while First Results include data for all ages including those aged 0-1 years. This is relevant for the long-term health conditions only.
• A new definition for diabetes is used in Updated Results. In First Results, the definition was all people who reported having diabetes that was current at the time of the interview. In Updated Results, the definition was extended to include all people who reported having diabetes, regardless of whether it was current at the time of the interview. This change resulted in an additional 99,100 persons (0.5% of all persons aged 2 years and over) being classified as having diabetes in Updated Results.

Due to the larger sample size, finer breakdowns of the data are presented in this publication. New information presented in this publication includes:

• Smoking data by Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage and remoteness
• Overweight and obese data by Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage and remoteness
• Selected long-term conditions by age and sex
• Data on self-reported hypertensive disease and measured blood pressure

In terms of national and other aggregate level figures, as expected, there are minimal differences. The following table provides a comparison of key estimates and the associated Margin of Error (MOE) at the 95% confidence level between First Results (what was previously published) and these Updated Results. There was no significant difference for any headline indicator, with the exception of diabetes due to the definitional change outlined above.

	First Results (%)	First Results (MOE ±)	Updated Results (%)	Updated Results (MOE ±)
Current daily smoker(a)	16.3	0.7	16.1	0.6
Overweight or obese(a)	63.4	1.1	62.8	0.9
Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption(a)	94.4	0.5	94.5	0.4
Diabetes(b)(c)	4.0	0.3	4.6	0.3
Heart, stroke and vascular disease(c)	4.7	0.3	5.0	0.3
Hypertensive disease(c)	10.2	0.5	10.6	0.4
Kidney disease(c)	0.8	0.1	0.9	0.1
Measured high blood pressure(a)	21.5	0.8	21.5	0.6
Self-assessed health: Excellent/Very Good(d)	55.6	1.2	55.1	0.8
(a) Persons aged 18 years and over. (b) A change in definition occurred between First Results and Updated Results. The Updated estimate of diabetes now includes persons who reported they had diabetes but that it was not current at the time of interview. These persons were excluded from First Results estimates. (c) First Results estimates are for all persons and Updated Results are for persons aged 2 years and over. (d) Persons aged 15 years and over.

Using a consistent definition (that is, all persons aged 2 years and over and diabetes results from both datasets on the new conceptual basis), the table below compares data from First Results and Updated Results for the selected long-term health conditions. This shows a similar story to the table above, that the differences between the smaller and larger samples did not make a significant difference at the aggregate level.

	First Results (%)	First Results (MOE ±)	Updated Results (%)	Updated Results (MOE ±)
Diabetes(a)	4.6	0.3	4.6	0.3
Heart, stroke and vascular disease	4.8	0.3	5.0	0.3
Hypertensive disease	10.5	0.5	10.6	0.4
Kidney disease	0.8	0.1	0.9	0.1
(a) Estimates for diabetes for First Results have been modified to be consistent with Updated Results and therefore include persons who reported they had diabetes but that it was not current at the time of interview.

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