Major risks to Irish health - report

The health of our nation is at an all-time high, but there are a number of emerging and continued risks to people’s health, the HSE’s Health Status Report, which was published today, has revealed.

Ireland continues to have very high consumption rates of alcohol and a ‘stubbornly high’ prevalence of smoking in the adult population. Ireland is the third highest alcohol consumer in Europe and the report shows a large increase in smoking among 13 to 15-year-olds.

The report stressed that the epidemics of obesity and diabetes pose major challenges to the nation’s long-term health, and said that high levels of fats and salt consumption permeate the general diet.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Ireland is higher than most countries in the EU, and there is a large underestimation of body weight by individuals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified seven major risks to health in relation to the Health Status Report. They are high blood pressure, tobacco use, alcohol use, high cholesterol, overweight and obesity, low fruit and vegetable intake, and physical inactivity.

It was stressed that a 2007 study found that just 18% of people aged over 45 had normal cholesterol levels. Some 30% of adults were found to be insufficiently active and levels of activity are continuing to decline.

However, the report also showed that people are living longer than they ever have before, and life expectancy has increased by about three years over the course of a decade, bringing us from close to the bottom of the EU league table to above average. Life expectancy is now 76.8 years for males and 81.6 years for females. Irish population numbers are now are the highest level since 1861.

The majority of Irish adults and children rate their own health as good, although almost 40% of adults report at least one health condition.

According to Dr Pat Doorley, HSE national director for population health, we can continue to improve health policies and advances in treatment as well as reducing the period towards the end of life which is spent in ill health.

“Because of our young population compared with the rest of Europe, we have a unique opportunity to bring our younger population to a much better state of health in old age then previous generations experienced. This is the challenge for all of us in the coming years - for the health services to adapt services to meet emerging needs and to address the current risks to people’s health and for each individual to take responsibility for how their lifestyle choices impact on their health and well-being into later life,” he said.

[Posted: Thu 04/06/2009]