Respondents aged 16 and over who reported a longstanding illness or condition were asked ‘What is the matter with you?’ Details of the illness were recorded by the interviewer and coded during the interview using a computer-assisted coding frame. The categories into which respondents’ replies were coded were later collapsed into broad groups which approximate to the chapter headings of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD10). Studies of the validity of self-reported data have shown that there is a high level of agreement between incidence based on self-reporting and on medical examinations, and between self-reporting and doctor diagnosis of specific conditions. The level of agreement is highest for those conditions which require ongoing treatment, have commonly recognised names and are salient to respondents because they cause discomfort or worry.

Similar to previous years of the GHS, the most common conditions reported by respondents were musculoskeletal problems and conditions of the heart and circulatory system. Since 1998, there has been no change in the order of frequency of conditions.

For the majority of conditions a higher prevalence was found among older people than among young people. The difference was more marked for some complaints than others.

• A condition of the musculoskeletal system was reported at a rate of 66 per 1000 for those aged 16 to 44, compared with a rate of 313 per 1000 among people aged 75 and over.
• Whereas 19 per 1000 in the 16 to 44 age group reported a heart and circulatory system condition, the corresponding rate among those aged 75 and over was 327 per 1000.

Skin complaints were one of a few conditions that did not increase with age. For example, people aged 16 to 44 were more likely than those aged 45 to 64 to have a skin condition (9 per 1000 compared with 5 per 1000). Similarly, there was a higher prevalence of mental disorders among 45 to 64 year olds (35 per 1000) than among the two older age groups (12 and 18 per 1000). The GHS does not collect data on people living in institutions because the sample is based on private households. Therefore it is possible that rates of some disorders are an underestimation of the true population rates, particularly among those aged 75 and over.

In line with the GHS results from previous years, women were more likely than men to report musculoskeletal problems, 153 compared to 138 per 1000 respectively. However, among those aged 16 to 44 this trend was reversed and the rate of reported musculoskeletal problems was higher among men than among women (74 per 1000 for men compared with 57 per 1000 for women). Overall there was no diffference between men and women in the reporting of heart and circulatory problems but for all age groups below the age of 75, rates of reported heart and circulatory problems were higher for men than for women. These differences increased with age and were largest among those aged 65 to 74.

• Among people aged 65 to 74, 313 per 1000 men reported heart and circulatory problems compared with 252 per 1000 women.

There was also a significantly higher prevalence of endocrine and metabolic conditions among women aged 65 and over compared with men of the same age. These differences were greatest in the oldest age group, where rates among women were 109 per 1000 compared with 65 per 1000 for men.

Table 7.15 shows the major disease groups separated into their component parts. This shows that the higher levels of women than men who reported musculoskeletal problems in the older age groups was mainly explained by the higher rate of arthritis and rheumatism among women (184 compared with 124 per 1000 among those aged 65 to 74 and 231 compared with 140 per 1000 among those aged 75 and over). Conversely, the higher levels of men compared with women who reported musculoskeletal problems in the youngest age group (16 to 44) can be explained by a higher rate of bone and joint problems among men.

Up to the age of 74, bronchitis and emphysema was significantly related to age, especially in men. There was almost no reporting among men aged 16 to 44, whereas 31 out of 1000 men aged 65-74 reported this condition. Hay fever was significantly higher among young men. The rates for men aged 16 to 44 were 5 per 1000 whereas there was no reporting from men aged 65 and over.

Tables 7.16 and 7.17 look at the rate of reporting selected longstanding conditions by socio-economic classification of the household reference person.

• Respondents whose household reference person was in the managerial and professional group had the lowest incidence of musculoskeletal and heart and circulatory problems.
• Respondents whose household reference person was in the semi-routine and routine group were almost twice as likely to report a musculoskeletal condition than those in the managerial and professional group (195 per 1000 compared with 111 per 1000).