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National Statistics
Publication

Health Survey for England 2018 [NS]

This is part of

National statistics
Publication date:
Geographic coverage:
England
Date range:
01 Jan 2018 to 31 Dec 2018

Summary

The Health Survey for England (HSE) monitors trends in the nation’s health and care. It provides information about adults aged 16 and over, and children aged 0 to 15, living in private households in England. The survey consists of an interview, followed by a visit from a nurse who takes some measurements and blood and saliva samples. Adults and children aged 13 to 15 were interviewed in person, and parents of children aged 0 to 12 answered on behalf of their children for many topics. Children aged 8 to 15 filled in a self-completion booklet about their drinking and smoking behaviour.

A total of 8,178 adults (aged 16 and over) and 2,072 children (aged 0 to 15) were interviewed in the 2018 survey. 4,825 adults and 1,103 children had a nurse visit.

Each survey in the series includes core questions, and measurements such as blood pressure, height and weight measurements and analysis of blood and saliva samples. In addition there are modules of questions on specific topics that vary from year to year.

The detailed reports with supporting Excel tables can be found at the bottom of this page and comprise the following topics:

  • Overweight and obesity in adults and children
  • Asthma
  • Adult's health-related behaviours (includes smoking, alcohol, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity and gambling)
  • Longstanding conditions
  • Adults' health (including diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol)
  • Childrens' health (includes smoking, alcohol, and fruit and vegetable consumption)
  • Social care in older adults _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This publication was updated on 9th December 2019. See the data quality statement attached to this page for more information.

Key facts

Data is for England, 2018

Image for infographic 43% of adults aged 16 and over had at least one longstanding medical condition
43% of adults aged 16 and over had at least one longstanding medical condition

16% of children aged up to 15 years old had at least one longstanding medical condition

Image for infographic 17% of men and 18% of women (aged 16 and over) had ever had asthma diagnosed
17% of men and 18% of women (aged 16 and over) had ever had asthma diagnosed

The proportions of children aged 0 to 15 with diagnosed asthma decreased by 10 percentage points from 20% in 2001-02 to 10% in 2018

Image for infographic More than half of adults (56%) were at increased, high or very high risk of chronic disease due to their waist circumference and BMI
More than half of adults (56%) were at increased, high or very high risk of chronic disease due to their waist circumference and BMI

26% of men and 29% of women were obese. 2% of men and 4% of women were morbidly obese

Image for infographic 27% of adults reported less than 30 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity per week and were classified as ‘inactive’
27% of adults reported less than 30 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity per week and were classified as ‘inactive’

Inactivity levels tended to increase across age groups, especially for men

Image for infographic 40% of adults had participated in some form of gambling activity during the previous 12 months (excluding National Lottery)
40% of adults had participated in some form of gambling activity during the previous 12 months (excluding National Lottery)

15% of men had participated in online gambling in the previous 12 months, compared with 4% of women

Image for infographic 19% of men and 28% of women aged 65 and over had some unmet need with at least one Activity of Daily Living
19% of men and 28% of women aged 65 and over had some unmet need with at least one Activity of Daily Living

Unmet need for help among older adults in the most deprived areas was at least double that of those in the least deprived areas

Data sets

Resources

Related news

NHS Digital article
State of the nation’s health in 2018 shown in new report
3 December 2019
The latest figures for the Health Survey for England have been released by NHS Digital, monitoring trends in the nation’s health and featuring new data on gambling, asthma and longstanding conditions.

Related links

Last edited: 27 January 2020 2:14 pm