Count of selected long-term health conditions (CLTHP)

This variable describes the number of selected long-term health conditions a person has reported. The selected long-term health conditions include:

• arthritis
• asthma
• cancer (including remission)
• dementia (including Alzheimer’s)
• diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes)
• heart disease (including heart attack or angina)
• kidney disease
• lung condition (including COPD or emphysema)
• mental health condition (including depression or anxiety)
• stroke

‘Any other long-term health condition(s)’ are excluded from the count.

All persons

This variable is derived from responses to the Long-term health conditions question. It counts the number of selected long-term conditions a person reports.

If a person marks only ‘Any other long-term health condition(s)’ on the Census form, they are not counted as having a long-term health condition in this variable. These people are counted in category 0, 'None of the Selected Conditions'. However, if a person selects, for example, ‘Asthma’ and ‘Any other long-term health condition(s)’ on the Census form, they would be included in category 1, ‘One condition’.

People who report over three conditions are grouped together in category 3, ‘Three or more conditions’.

This is a new variable for 2021.

The count of selected long-term health condition responses, including no conditions, are not comparable to similar counts derived from other health collections such as the National Health Survey (NHS) and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Surveys (NATSIHS). Different sets of selected health conditions questions are asked in these other collections. For more information, see Comparing ABS long-term health conditions data sources.

The non-response rate for Count of long-term health conditions (CLTHP) was 8.1% in 2021. 

• Type of long-term health condition (LTHP)
• Long-term health condition(s)

• National Health Survey: First results
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey
• Mental health
• Health: Census
• Comparing ABS long-term health conditions data sources