4364.0.55.001 - National Health Survey: First Results, 2014-15

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/12/2015

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Key findings About the National Health Survey Self-assessed health status Psychological distress + Long-term health conditions Arthritis and osteoporosis Asthma Cancer High cholesterol Diabetes mellitus Heart, stroke and vascular disease Hypertension and measured high blood pressure Kidney disease Mental and behavioural conditions Smoking Overweight and obesity Waist circumference Alcohol consumption Daily intake of fruit and vegetables Exercise Children's risk factors + Key Findings — States and Territories History of Changes About this Release Fewer Australian adults smoking (Media Release) New report reveals State, Territory health status (Media Release) Linkage of NHS 2014-15 to the Multi-Agency Data Integration Project	ARTHRITIS AND OSTEOPOROSIS Arthritis Arthritis refers to a range of musculoskeletal conditions where a person's joints become inflamed, which may result in pain, stiffness, disability and deformity. These symptoms can often have a significant impact on a person's everyday functioning life[1]. In 2014-15, 15.3% of Australians (3.5 million people) had arthritis, with prevalence higher amongst women than men (18.3% compared with 12.3%). Of persons with arthritis, more than half (58.9%) had osteoarthritis (deterioration of cartilage inside a joint), 11.5% had rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease in which the body is attacked by bacteria or viruses) and 34.8% had an unspecified type of arthritis. Note that as it is possible to have more than one type of arthritis, proportions add to more than 100%. The prevalence of arthritis increases with age, particularly for women. In 2014-15, women aged 55 years and over were considerably more likely to have arthritis than men (51.4% compared with 35.2%). Source(s): National Health Survey: First Results, 2014-15 Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a condition of the musculoskeletal system in which a person's bones become fragile and brittle, leading to an increased risk of fractures. Fractures can lead to chronic pain, disability and loss of independence[2]. In 2014-15, 801,800 Australians (3.5%) had osteoporosis. The proportion of people with osteoporosis more than doubled between 2001 and 2007-08 (from 1.6% to 3.4%) but has remained stable since then (3.3% in 2011-12). Similar to arthritis, osteoporosis is considerably more common amongst women than men (5.5% of all females having osteoporosis in 2014-15 compared with 1.4% of all males), and is more common at older ages. Around one in five women (25.8%) aged 75 years and over had osteoporosis in 2014-15, compared with one in fourteen men (7.2%) of the same age. Source(s): National Health Survey: First Results, 2014-15 ENDNOTES 1 Arthritis Australia, 'What is arthritis?', <http://www.arthritisaustralia.com.au/index.php/arthritis-information/what-is-arthritis.html>; last accessed 01/12/2015 2 Osteoporosis Australia, What you need to know about Osteoporosis - 2nd Edition, August 2014 <http://www.osteoporosis.org.au/sites/default/files/files/oa_consumer_ed2_Aug2014.pdf>; last accessed 01/12/2015 Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.