Respondents are asked whether they have a longstanding illness, disability or infirmity. This question has been included in the GHS in its present form since 1972. Those who report a longstanding illness are then asked if this limits their activities in any way. This question has been asked since 1975.

In 2000, nearly one in three people (32%) reported a longstanding condition, while 19% said they had a condition which limited their activities in some way. There were no statistically significant differences between males and females.

Not surprisingly, the likelihood of reporting a chronic condition, whether limiting or otherwise, increased with age.

• The prevalence of longstanding illnesses, disabilities or infirmities increased from 14% of those under the age of five to 64% of those aged 75 and over.
• Around one in five (21%) respondents aged under 45 reported a longstanding illness, whereas around half of those aged 45 and over did so.
• The proportion reporting a limiting condition increased from 4% of children aged under five to 47% of adults in the 75 and over age group.
• One in ten respondents under the age of 45 reported a limiting longstanding illness, compared with a third of older respondents.

There is evidence that older people are likely to under-report chronic conditions, perhaps because they regard limitations in their daily activities as a normal part of growing old, not as evidence of illness or disability. People aged 65 and over, a report from the 1998 GHS, discusses how GHS data is likely to under-estimate the incidence of longstanding conditions among older people.

The proportion reporting longstanding illness has increased over time. In 1972, 21% reported such conditions, and this increased steadily through the 1970s and early 1980s, after which the figure ranged from 30% to 35%, with no clear pattern over time. The prevalence of limiting longstanding conditions has increased in line with longstanding conditions, showing similar variations, although the overall increase has been smaller; in 1975 15% reported a limiting condition, whereas the figure had risen to 19% in 2000.

It is notable that between the 1970s and the most recent decade, there has been an approximate doubling of the proportion of children (aged 0 to 4 and 5 to 15) who were reported to have longstanding illnesses.

It should be noted that reports of chronic sickness are based on respondents’ own assessments; increases in prevalence may reflect increased expectations which people have about their health as well as changes in the actual prevalence of sickness. A possible contributory factor is an increase in the absolute numbers of people with severe chronic conditions who are surviving now compared with the past, perhaps due to new treatments or the wider application of successful treatments. It should also be remembered that people vary in the extent to which they are troubled by the same symptoms, and that their need to limit activities will also depend on what they usually do.