Report of the New South Wales Chief Health Officer, 1997

Graphic: Illness - Recent conditions
Note: The most commonly reported conditions are shown. Recent conditions = medical conditions (illness, injury or disability) experienced in the two weeks prior to interview.
Source: ABS 1995 National Health Survey, unpublished data.
 In 1995, the recent health conditions (those experienced in the previous two weeks) most commonly reported by NSW residents were headache, arthritis, high blood pressure, asthma and common cold.

Women were more likely than men to report many conditions, including headache, arthritis, high blood pressure and common cold.

Men were more likely than women to report back problems, heart disease and high cholesterol.

These differences are in part attributable to differences in the age structure of the male and female populations, with a greater proportion of females aged 75 years or over.

More than 30 per cent of people aged 75 years and over reported arthritis as a recent condition, and almost 40 per cent of people in this age group reported high blood pressure.

These findings were very similar to those from the 1989/90 National Health Survey (ABS 1997).

Reference: ABS, 1997, unpublished data.
Produced by Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Public Health Division, New South Wales Health Department on 20 March 1998.