Health conditions and risks

Information on health behaviours, conditions prevalence, and risk factors in Australia

• Over 8 million people reported having a long-term health condition.
• 4,791,516 people had one of the selected long-term health conditions.
• 1,490,344 people had two of the selected long-term health conditions.
• 772,142 people had three or more of the selected long-term health conditions.

• Almost one in four (23.9%) people aged 15 years and over met the physical activity guidelines
• Nearly half (46.9%) of employed adults aged 18–64 years described their day at work as mostly sitting

• More than one in four (26.8%) adults exceeded the Australian Adult Alcohol Guideline in 2022
• Males were more likely than females to exceed the guideline (35.8% compared to 18.1%)
• More than one in three (36.1%) young adults aged 18–24 years exceeded the guideline

• Just under 2.8 million (10.8%) people had asthma in 2022
• Almost one in three (32.1%) people with asthma had a written action plan
• One in three (33.9%) people with asthma used asthma medication daily

• One in ten (10.6%) adults were current daily smokers in 2022, this rate has steadily declined from 22.4% in 2001
• Nearly three in five (58.3%) adults have never smoked
• One in seven (14.4%) adults have used e-cigarette or vaping devices

Of people who volunteered to wear an accelerometer for this survey, on average:

• Adults spent 4 hours 26 minutes per day being active
• Adults were inactive for 11 hours 54 minutes per day
• Adults slept for 7 hours 36 minutes per night

• One in fifteen (6.6%) adults had diabetes
• One in seven (14.2%) adults had indicators of chronic kidney disease, up from 10.8% a decade earlier
• Almost one in three (30.2%) of adults had an abnormally high total cholesterol level
• One in five (20.6%) adults had a vitamin D deficiency, down from 23.8% in 2011–12

• Two in five (38.1%) people aged 15 years and over used SPF30 or higher sunscreen on most days in the last month in late spring and summer 2023–24
• One in 14 (6.9%) people had experienced sunburn in the last week
• Young people aged 15–24 years were more likely to experience sunburn in the last week than people aged 65 years and over (15.2% compared to 2.0%)
• One in 10 (9.4%) Australians attempted to get a suntan in the previous twelve months

• Almost half (45.5%) of adults in NSW met the fruit recommendation
• More people aged 15 years and over in Victoria met the physical activity guidelines in 2022 than in 2017–18 (16.8% compared to 24.5%)
• Three in ten adults exceeded the Australian Adult Alcohol Guideline in the NT (31.1%), WA (29.9%), Queensland (29.4%), and SA (29.3%)
• People in Tasmania were more likely to have at least one chronic condition (58.4%) than any other state or territory
• Adults in the ACT were more likely to have never smoked (67.6%) and less likely to be current daily smokers (5.9%) than any other state or territory

• Almost seven in ten (68.6%) people were dispensed at least one PBS medication in the 6 months before or after their NHS interview in 2022
• Over eight in ten (83.0%) people with one or more chronic conditions were dispensed at least one PBS medication
• Over two in five (43.5%) people used paracetamol and one in five (20.6%) used ibuprofen in the last two weeks

• 246,200 people (1.0%) had kidney disease in 2022
• Kidney disease prevalence has remained steady over the last decade, from 0.8% in 2011–12 to 1.0% in 2022
• One in twenty (4.9%) people aged 75 years and over had kidney disease

• Eight in ten (81.4%) people had at least one long-term health condition
• One in two (49.9%) people had at least one chronic condition
• Mental and behavioural conditions (26.1%), back problems (15.7%), and arthritis (14.5%) were the most common chronic conditions

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease prevalence has remained steady over the last decade, from 2.4% in 2011–12 to 2.5% in 2022
• One in fourteen (7.0%) people aged 65 years and over had COPD, more than any other age group

• More than two in three (67.9%) adults had measured waist circumference that put them at an increased risk of disease in 2022
• Almost two thirds (65.8%) of adults were overweight or obese

• Nine in ten (90.6%) children aged 0–3 years had ever received breast milk
• Nearly two in five (37.5%) were exclusively breastfed to 6 months
• Almost two in three (64.2%) were introduced to solids at 6 months or later

• Over one in ten (11.6% or 3.0 million) people reported having hypertension in 2022
• Prevalence of reported hypertension was similar for males and females (11.7% and 11.6%)
• Three in four (74.5%) adults with high measured blood pressure did not report having hypertension

• One in twelve (8.4% or 2.1 million) people had self-reported high cholesterol in 2022
• The prevalence of high cholesterol has increased since 2011–12 (6.8%)
• Almost three in ten (29.0%) people aged 75 years and over had high cholesterol

• One in twenty (5.2% or 1.3 million) people had heart, stroke and vascular disease in 2022
• Prevalence of heart, stroke and vascular disease has increased slightly since 2001 (4.1%)
• Heart, stroke and vascular disease was slightly more common in males than females (5.9% compared to 4.6%)

• One in twenty (5.3% or 1.3 million) people had diabetes in 2022
• Males and females had similar rates of diabetes (5.8% and 4.9%)
• Diabetes prevalence has slowly increased from 3.3% in 2001 to 5.3% in 2022
   

• Around one in fifty (1.8% or 456,200) people had cancer in 2022
• One in three (34.9%) people with cancer had skin cancer, the most reported type of cancer 
• Males were slightly more likely to have cancer than females (2.1% compared to 1.6%)

• Just under 3.7 million (14.5%) people had arthritis in 2022
• Prevalence of arthritis has remained stable since 2004–05 (15.3%)
• People aged 75 years and over were more likely than any other age group to have arthritis (48.9%)

• 43.7% of adults experienced one or more stressors such as illness or bereavement
• Women were more likely to experience one or more stressors compared to men (45.0% compared to 42.2%)
• Seven in ten (71.1%) adults experienced bodily pain in the four weeks prior to the survey

• 191.2 million litres of pure alcohol was available for consumption.
• This equates to 9.51 litres of pure alcohol available per person.
• 12.43 litres per person was consumed by the 77% of persons who consumed alcohol last year.

This product presents data on health literacy by population characteristics including age and sex, by geography, health risk factors and status

• 56% of Australians aged 15 years and over considered themselves to be in excellent or very good health. This has remained constant over the last 10 years.
• 15% of Australians aged 15 years and over reported being in fair or poor health.
• Younger Australians generally rated themselves as having better health than older people.

• 25% of children aged 5-17 years were overweight or obese.
• 6% of children met both the fruit and vegetables recommendations.
• 9% of adults and 7% of children consume sugar sweetened drinks daily.
• 45% of children aged 2-17 years usually consume either sugar sweetened drink or diet drinks at least once per week.

• 47% of Australians had one or more chronic conditions.
• Over the last decade the prevalence of chronic conditions increased (from 42%).
• Females aged 15 years and over were more likely than males to have a chronic condition (57% compared to 51%).
• The prevalence of chronic conditions increased with age.

Physical activity results from the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey, presented with selected population characteristics and health risk factors