Northern Ireland
Longstanding illness/disability
Key points
- The proportion of people suffering from a limiting long-term illness rises with age - but is always much higher among those living in social rented accommodation than among those who are owner occupiers.
- Among those aged under 45, 17% of individuals living in social rented accommodation reported such a condition in the 2001 Census, compared with 7% among owner occupiers. Among those aged 45 to 59, the comparable figures were 53% and 22% respectively, while among those aged over 60, the figures were 68% and 47%.
- Across the Northern Ireland districts, the proportion of
working age people suffering from a limiting long-term illness ranged from 22%
in Strabane to 13% in North Down. The proportion in Belfast (20%) places
it among those districts with the highest rates.
In general, there is a pronounced east-west pattern to the prevalence of this condition, with almost all the western districts (the main exception being Fermanagh) having higher proportions than eastern ones. - The proportion of working-age people with a limiting long-term illness is higher in Northern Ireland than in most of Great Britain.
Graph 1: By age and tenure
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Graph 2: By LA
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Graph 3: Compared to GB
View Graph as PDF Right click to save large version of Graph as PNG
Definitions and data sources
Limiting long-term illness among people of working age is not only a potential cause of poverty but also a potential consequence of it. It can be a cause because someone with such a condition is both less likely to have a job and to have less choice about what job they do - and therefore what rate of pay they can achieve. It can also be a consequence if it arises as a result of repeated spells of worklessness or reduced opportunities.
The first graph shows the proportion of adults self-reporting a limiting long-standing illness by age band (under 35, 35-59 and 60+) and housing tenure.
The second graph shows how the proportion of working-age people self-reporting a limiting long-standing illness varies by local authority.
The third graph shows how the proportion of working-age people self-reporting a limiting long-standing illness in Northern Ireland compares with the regions of Great Britain.
The data source for all the graphs is the 2001 Census.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The question asked in the Census is the usually accepted way of measuring the prevalence of limiting long-standing illness.
External links
See the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's site on health inequalities.