This topic covers statistical outputs which are used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of conditions and diseases. It also covers the prevention and treatment of these disorders by the NHS. A combination of administrative and survey data are used to produce these statistical outputs.
Publications
Describes the geographical patterns in cancer incidence and mortality across the the UK and Ireland and relates them to risk factors and to levels of socio-economic deprivation.
Cancer Incidence
Cancer Mortality
Cancer statistics covering numbers of new cases, incidence and survival rates in England each year.
Presents national and regional information about cancer incidence.
Brings together a large amount of information on cancer incidence, deaths from cancer, prevalence and survival from cancer.
Commentary, charts and tables present information on cancer cases and deaths in the UK.
This presents the latest one- and five-year age-standardised relative survival rates for cancers of the bladder, breast (in women), cervix, colon, lung, oesophagus, prostate and stomach with data for the government office regions (GOR) and strategic health authorities (SHA).
This presents cancer survival for adult patients (aged 15-99) resident in the 88 (now 62 following NHS reconfiguration in 2006) 'Spearhead' primary care trusts (PCT) in England, compared with those resident in the rest of England.
This present the latest one- and five-year age-standardised crude and relative survival rates for adult patients (aged 15-99 years) diagnosed in England for 21 common cancers.
Cervical Screening Statistics
Cervical cytology
Contains statistics of notification of congenital anomalies for England and Wales in the reference year. Data are given for type of congenital anomaly by government office regions and strategic health authorities.
The Bulletin provides summary information as well as some trend data from previous years. It includes information on - smoking, household composition, debt, internet access, health, sport and leisure, environmental issues, mobile phones and job applications.
Coronary Heart Disease Statistics update
Influenza Update
Mandatory Surveillance of MRSA Bacteraemia and Clostridium Difficile
Statistics on women aged 25 to 64 who are invited for regular cervical screening to detect abnormalities under an annual programme.
Notifiable infectious disease statistics
Scottish Breast Screening Programme
Scottish Stroke Care Audit
This annual update includes information on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and workload in Scottish GUM clinics.
Stroke Statistics update
Unintentional Injuries
Overview
The statistics published in this section are based on information collected and published by the Department of Health (DH), the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care (IC) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Many of these statistics are used by central government and by the NHS to:
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monitor the public health
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assess NHS performance, and
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assess health needs in national and local populations
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) provide information on the treatment of conditions and diseases in hospitals. Diagnostic information is used to estimate the prevalence of conditions and diseases requiring inpatient treatment. HES data is used to monitor many NHS Performance Indicators.
IC’s Health Survey for England gathers data to estimate the prevalence of conditions and diseases impacting on the health of the population. These statistics are published in annual reports by population breakdowns.
ONS also reports prevalence estimates of long-standing conditions using the General Household Survey.
ONS processes data from regional cancer registries in England and the Welsh Cancer Intelligence Surveillance Unit, and holds data from 1971. The number of newly diagnosed cases (incidence) of cancer and cancer survival figures are regularly reported for England. Data for sub-national populations such as Government Office Regions, Strategic Health Authorities and Spearhead Primary Care Trusts are also available.
ONS maintains the National Congenital Anomaly System (NCAS) which was set up in 1964 to monitor the occurrence of congenital anomalies in England and Wales. The number and rates of congenital anomalies are reported annually for England and Wales.
Technical Data
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)
HES contain details of all admissions to NHS hospitals in England and all finished consultant episodes, including NHS outpatient appointments.
Each HES record can contain more than 50 pieces of information, collected directly by hospital providers or derived by the HES team. The HES records system covers all NHS trusts in England, including:
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acute hospitals
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Primary Care Trusts (PCTs)
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mental health trusts
HES also include care provided to NHS patients by the independent sector and care given to private patients in NHS hospitals. The type of information collected for hospital records include:
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clinical details of diagnoses
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personal information about the patient treated
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details of where the patient was treated
The HES online website gives you the opportunity to view a range of HES data, either as downloadable tables or in personalised, online tables. The site also offers a range of articles focussing on different aspects of HES data, health conditions and published research.
Health Survey for England
The Health Survey for England is a series of annual surveys designed to measure health and health-related behaviours in adults and children living in private households in England.
The trend tables focus upon key changes in core topics and measurements. The prevalence rates presented in the key trend tables have been weighted to represent the numbers of people affected in the population of England.
The latest available findings for 2007 can be found in the main report: Health Survey for England 2007. Also in the report is a methodological overview containing the sample design along with:
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weighting
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topic coverage
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quality control
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response rates
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measurement profiles, and
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schedules
Further information about the Health Survey for England can be found on the UK data archive website
Quality and Outcomes Framework
The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) consists of a set of achievement indicators which are used when calculating general medical practice funding contracts. Some cover the management of specific conditions and diseases.
An overview of QOF; its data on the prevalence of conditions and diseases and guidance on the use of QOF data can be found in the QOF 2007-08 bulletin.
QOF data tables for
national, strategic health authority, PCT and practice levels
are available along with the
prevalence of the conditions and diseases within the QOF clinical areas domain
There is also a glossary of
QOF terminology.
ONS Cancer Statistics
ONS Cancer Intelligence Centre regularly report statistics on cancer incidence for the UK and England, and survival for England and sub-national breakdowns:
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Strategic Health Authorities
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Government Office Regions, and
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Spearhead PCTs
National Congenital Anomaly System (NCAS)
ONS receives data from two sources: electronically from local congenital anomaly registers for the areas covered by a register, and on paper forms directly from NHS trusts in areas without a local register.
Other ONS Statistics on Conditions and Diseases
The Focus on Health report combines data from the 2001 Census and other sources to illustrate various topics, and provides links to further information. It consists of a short overview of the topic, followed by a full report containing more comprehensive analysis.
The report covers:
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health status
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health related behaviours
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morbidity, and
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the use of health services in the UK, Great Britain or England and Wales
United Kingdom Health Statistics 2006 and 2008 is a biennial (every two years) publication containing information on health and care for the UK and constituent countries. It provides a reference for the comparison of key figures between the UK and other nation states and the four countries within the UK. The report analyses:
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general health and morbidity
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health related behaviour
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the use of preventative health care, and
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the use of health services
Glossary
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Age standardisation
Age standardisation is the number of cancer registrations or deaths for a particular sex and age group divided by the corresponding sex and age-specific mid-year population. It is usually expressed per 100,000 people.
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Body Mass Index (BMI)
Body Mass Index is calculated by an individual’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres.
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Cancer registration
Cancer registration is the process of collecting and storing data about the patient, the cancer and the treatment received.
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Cancer registration minimum data set
The cancer registration minimum dataset is a person based database, including an agreed minimum set of data items relating to the patient, the cancer and treatment.
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Congenital anomaly
Congenital anomaly is a structural or functional abnormality of the human body that develops before birth.
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Cumulative lifetime cancer risk
The risk (odds or percentage chance) of a person developing cancer during their lifetime based on current age and sex-specific incidence rates. This is called cumulative lifetime cancer risk.
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Death certificate only
Cases of cancer registered solely from information provided on the death certificate. These patients necessarily appear to have zero survival time (as the date of diagnosis has to be taken to be the date of death).
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Directly age-standardised incidence rates
Directly age-standardised incidence rates make allowances for differences in the age structure of populations. The directly age-standardised rate (ASR) for a particular population is that which would have occurred had its observed age-specific rates been applied in a given standard population. Rates in this article were age-standardised using the European Standard Population. This is a hypothetical population standard, which is the same for both males and females, allowing standardised rates to be compared over time and between geographical areas. Age-standardised rates are commonly presented per 100,000 of the population at risk.
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Finished Consultant Episode (FCE)
The Primary Unit of measurement within the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) information system. An FCE is a continuous period of patient care delivered within a single hospital provider and administered by a specific consultant. Patients can complete a number of FCEs within a single admission to hospital for in-patient care.
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Health Survey for England response rate for individuals
The proportion of individuals interviewed for the Health Survey for England where the number of individuals in non-participating households is estimated. This is the response rate.
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Incidence
Incidence is the number or rate (per head of population) of new cases of a disease diagnosed in a given population during a specified time period.
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International Classification of Diseases – 10th Revision
International Classification of Diseases – 10th Revision is the tenth edition of a standardised classification of conditions and diseases developed by the World Health Organisation.
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Long-standing illness (limiting)
A (limiting) long-standing illness is an illness, disability or infirmity that has troubled an individual over a period of time or likely to affect an individual over a period of time. A long-standing illness is defined as limiting if it limits an individual’s day to day activities.
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Morbid obesity
A person who is morbidly obese has a Body Mass Index measurement of 40 or more.
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Multi-stage stratified probability sampling design
The Health Survey for England 2007 sample was determined using a multi-stage stratified probability sampling design. This approach selects a random sample of pre-defined primary sampling units (PSUs) based on postcode sectors in the first stage. Within each selected PSU a random sample of postal addresses are drawn.
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Obese
A person who is obese has a Body Mass Index measurement equal to or exceeding 30 but less than 40.
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Overweight
A person who is overweight has a Body Mass Index measurement exceeding 25 but less than 30.
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Standardised Registration Ratio
Standardised Registration Ratio (SSR) a method of indirect standardisation applied to allow cancer incidence in an area to be compared to a standard population. The age and sex specific rates of the standard population are applied to a particular area and this expected incidence can then be compared to that actually observed in the standard population. SRRs are generally expressed as an index with the standard population having a value of 100.
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Tumour
A tumour is a mass of abnormal tissue, the growth of which exceeds and is uncoordinated with the normal tissue it originates from. It will persist in the same excessive manner after the stimuli which evoked the change have ceased (also known as a neoplasm).
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Tumour site
A tumour site is the anatomical location of a tumour, as specified by the ICD code.
Contact Details
For statistical enquiries about this topic, please contact:
Chris White
Email: hle@ons.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1633 455865
Room 2.176 Office for National Statistics Government Buildings Cardiff Road Newport NP10 8XG
