Archive:Disability statistics - health
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This article is part of the set of articles on Disability that provides information on persons that are facing health problems or difficulties in basic activities based on data from the 2011 ad-hoc module of the EU Labour Force Survey (AHM). It gives an overview of the various types of longstanding health problems and basic activity difficulties reported by respondents aged 15-64 in 31 countries (the EU-28 Member States, Turkey, Iceland, and Switzerland).
The 2011 ad-hoc module aimed at implementing, as far as possible, the concept of disability as defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF, WHO, 2001), also called the biopsychosocial model. In this model, people with disabilities are defined as those who face barriers to participating in any life activity areas, as a result of a health condition or basic activity difficulty.
The proportion of people with a longstanding health problem or a basic activity difficulty is measured against the total number of people surveyed in the 2011 module, who were aged between 15 and 64. In the below, ‘the population’ refers to people in this age group. Prevalence is expressed as a percentage or as the number of cases per 100 people.
Main statistical findings
28% affected by a longstanding health problem and/or a basic activity difficulty
Approximately 28% of people aged 15-64 in the EU reported a longstanding health problem or a basic activity difficulty, or both. This varied by country, ranging from 14% in Greece and Ireland to over 50% in France and Finland.
A relatively small number of people report having difficulty with basic activities: less than 2 % of the population in three-quarters of the countries, in 2011. Austria and Luxembourg had the highest percentage of people reporting these difficulties, at 5% and 4% (see Figure 1). Conversely, longstanding health problems are far more frequent in the EU as a whole (14% of the population), ranging from a comparatively low 4% in the Netherlands to a considerable 34% in Finland. People in Finland and France had a relatively high proportion (approx. 20%) of people aged 15-64 reporting both a longstanding health problem and difficulties with basic activities (which may be interrelated), while Ireland and Malta had a small proportion of people with these difficulties, at approx. 5%.
Multiple problems are most common among 55-64-year-olds
As expected, the proportion of people who report a longstanding health problem and/or a basic activity difficulty increases with age. While 87 % of 15-24-year-olds in the EU reported no health-related or activity problems, this proportion gradually decreased to 50 % of 55-64-year-olds.
The proportion of people who reported multiple problems, i.e. a longstanding health problem combined with a basic activity difficulty, increased with age in the EU, from 3 % of 15-24-year-olds to 27 % of 55-64-year-olds. In all age groups under 55, the most common report was of a longstanding health problem alone.
A slightly higher proportion of women in the sample as a whole reported a longstanding health problem, difficulties with basic activities, or both (30% of women against 27% for men). The largest gender difference was in those who reported both longstanding health problems and a basic activity difficulty with 13% of women in this group compared to 11% of men.
8% of people in the EU had back or neck problems
The most frequently reported longstanding health problem was a problem with the back or neck (about 8 %). Less than 2% of people reported suffering from depression, diabetes or severe headaches (see Figure 3).
However, this pattern varies significantly across countries. While a problem with the back and neck (which includes arthritis or rheumatism) was the most frequent longstanding health problem reported in a majority of countries (20 out of 31 countries — including in particular a fifth of the population in Finland, France and Austria), problems linked to the heart, blood pressure or circulation were most often reported in the other 11 countries.
Among the less frequently reported categories, “chest or breathing problems (including asthma and bronchitis)”, ”problems with arms or hands” as well as “problems with legs and feet (including arthritis or rheumatism)” were most reported in Finland (7% and 9%, respectively 11%) while the highest prevalence of diabetes was in Malta (3%) and Turkey (4%). More people reported depression in Portugal and Finland (both 3%) than the EU average of 1.4%.
Men more affected by diabetes and blood circulation problems, women by severe headaches
There appear to be gender differences in certain health issues: more women report all types of longstanding health problems except “diabetes” and “heart, blood pressure or circulation problems”. ”Chest or breathing problems (including asthma and bronchitis)” affects both genders equally. In the EU, the largest gender gap is seen in those reporting “severe headaches”, (1.0% of men but 2.6% of women) and “problems with arms or hands” (2.4% of men and 3.7% of women).
The occurrence of most longstanding health problems increases with age. A very regular increase is observed with age for back and neck problems and, at a lesser degree, also for problems with legs or feet and arms or hands (see Figure 5).
It may neither be surprising that problems with heart, blood pressure or circulation problems as well as diabetes rapidly increase in the 55-64 age category. In contrast, longstanding severe headaches were mostly reported by persons aged 35 to 44; the percentages being lower for the two older age classes. Similarly, most persons suffering from depressions were found among the 45 to 54 year olds.
Among the youngest (age class 15-24), “Chest or breathing problems including asthma and bronchitis” and back or neck problems were most frequently mentioned (2.2% of the respondents for each category).
Basic activity difficulties: Lifting and carrying difficulties affected 5 persons out of 100 in EU-28
Compared with longstanding health problems, the prevalence of basic activity difficulties is generally smaller. 5% of the working-age population reported having a problem with lifting and carrying in the EU-28 level, with countries ranging from 1% in Ireland to 11% in Latvia. This then should come as no surprise as among the longstanding health problems, back and neck problems were most frequently mentioned.
With 4% at EU-28 level, the second most frequently mentioned difficulty concerned “Walking, climbing steps”. For the latter difficulty, values among EU Member States ranged from 2% in Ireland to 7% in Luxembourg. Beyond the EU borders, a share of 10% was reported in Turkey.
Noticeable are some national particularities: in France, the highest prevalence was reported for difficulties with sitting or standing (6%); for Romania this was difficulties with “Seeing, even if wearing glasses” (4%). Among the categories with low occurrences at EU-28 level, comparatively high shares were reported by France for “Hearing, even if using a hearing aid” (5%), by Iceland for “Remembering, concentrating” (5%) and by Estonia for “Seeing, even if wearing glasses” (5%).
Only hearing problems more often reported by men
In terms of gender differences, the overall picture appears clearer than for the main longstanding health problems as for each main basic activity difficulty, more women were concerned, with the notable exception of “Hearing, even if using hearing aid”. The highest gender gap was for “Lifting and carrying” with a difference of 1 percentage point.
Remembering and concentrating: a concern for the younger
As for longstanding health problems, the number of persons with basic activity difficulties increases with age with a stronger increase in the two oldest age classes. More noticeable is the fact that “Remembering and concentrating”, although being a lesser problem in absolute terms, appears to be an issue among the youngest: with 1.3% for the 15-24 year olds, the value is slightly higher than for the following age class (1.2% for 25-34 years old).
Data sources and availability
The main data source used for this publication is the European Labour Force Survey. It is a quarterly, large sample survey providing results for the population in private households in the EU, Turkey, Iceland, and Switzerland.
The LFS included an ad-hoc module on the employment of disabled people in 2002 and 2011. The aim of these modules was to provide information on the situation of disabled people on the labour market as compared to those without disabilities.
Concepts and definitions
Two main concepts related to disability are used in this article:
- Longstanding health problems or diseases: longstanding is to be understood as a health condition or disease which has lasted or is likely to last for at least 6 months. The main characteristic of a longstanding health condition or disease is that it is permanent and may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation or care.
- Basic activity difficulties: an activity is defined as the performance of a task or action by an individual and thus basic activity difficulties are defined as difficulties in performing a basic activity (such as seeing, hearing, lifting, bending, etc) by the respondent. The length of the difficulty must have lasted or be expected to last for six months or more.
Context
There is a considerable demand for policy-relevant statistics on disability at the EU level, deriving especially from the European Disability Strategy (2010-2020). The European Commission is active in the streamlining of information on disability collected through EU social surveys (EU-SILC, LFS AHM, EHIS), the development of a specific survey on barriers for social integration of disabled people (European Health and Social Integration Survey - EHSIS) and the presentation of a set of indicators to monitor the situation of disabled people with reference to the key Europe 2020 targets for education, employment and poverty reduction. The 2011 Labour Force Survey ad-hoc module contributes to answering user needs by providing both a clear picture of the employment of disabled people as well as monitoring the gaps in the domains of education and employment.
See also
Online publications
- Disability statistics
- Health statistics
- EU labour force survey statistics
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Statistical analysis and publication of the results of the 2011 Labour Force Survey ad hoc module on employment of disabled people.
Database
- [1], see:
- Prevalence of disability (source LFS) (hlth_dsb_prv)
Dedicated section
Methodology / Metadata
- Labour force survey - overview
- Labour force survey - comparability and accuracy
- Labour force survey - non-response analysis
- Labour force survey - proxy analysis
- Prevalence of disability (source LFS) (hlth_dsb_prv)
Other information
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 317/2010 of 16 April 2010 adopting the specifications of the 2011 ad hoc module on employment of disabled people for the labour force sample survey provided for by Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98
External links
- European Disability Strategy 2010-2020
- The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
[[Category:<Health>|Disability statistics - health]] [[Category:<Population>|Disability statistics - health]] [[Category:<Statistical article>|Disability statistics - health]]