Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 9—Health 329
Morbidity
The 1995 National Health Survey found that
almost 75% of the Australian population of all
ages experienced one or more long term
conditions (i.e. conditions that have lasted, or are
expected to last, six months or more). The most
common long term conditions related to
eyesight, particularly
hypermetropia/far-sightedness and
myopia/short-sightedness (table 9.2).
Females were more likely than males to
experience long term conditions, partly due to
their older age structure. The higher number of
long term conditions reported by females may
also reflect that women are more likely to consult
health professionals, and hence have conditions
diagnosed.
The proportion of the population with any long
term conditions increased with age, from 31% of
0–4 year olds to over 99% of people aged 60 years
and over (graph 9.3).
The prevalence of hypermetropia increased
slowly with age to 10% of people aged 35–39,
then increased strongly to over 50% of people
aged 55–60 years. It remained at this level
(approximately 50%) for people in their sixties
until decreasing gradually to 40% of those aged
85–89 years.
The prevalence of deafness in the community
also increased with age; of those aged 90 years
and over, 54% reported deafness as a long term
condition, indicating that as people age their
hearing abilities deteriorate. Factors such as the
natural ageing process, as well as environmental
exposure to noise, could explain this pattern.
Age is also a major determining factor in the
prevalence of hypertension. Less than 1% of the
Australian population aged under 20 experienced
hypertension, compared to over 39% of those
aged 70 years and over.
9.2 TOP TEN LONG TERM CONDITIONS, By Sex—1995
Males
Females
Long term conditions
%
%
%
Hypermetropia/far-sighted 18.5 23 20.8
Myopia/short-sighted 17.8 22.8 20.3
Hayfever 12.9 14.5 13.7
Asthma 10.7 11.4 11.1
Hypertension 9.5 10.9 10.2
Sinusitis 8.0 11.9 10
Deafness (complete/partial) 12.1 6.9 9.5
Presbyopia 7.5 8.9 8.2
Osteoarthritis 4.6 8.2 6.4
Arthritis n.e.c. 5.2 6.4 5.8
Total 72.7 76.4 74.5
Source: 1995 National Health Survey.
Total