COEXISTING CONDITIONS AND IMPAIRMENTS

COEXISTING LONG -TERM HEALTH CONDITIONS

A wide range of long-term health conditions can coexist with psychological disability and this information is important in understanding the overall health of people with psychological disability.

Of all people with a psychological disability in 2012, 38.7% had depression and 38.9% had anxiety related disorders which included phobic and anxiety disorders, nervous tension and stress. These were the two most common long-term health conditions for people with psychological disability.

The survey found that people with psychological disability were more than fourteen times as likely to report having dementia (including Alzheimer's disease) compared with those with another disability other than psychological (14.7% compared with 0.9%).

Other long-term health conditions commonly reported amongst people with psychological disability included arthritis (27.5%), back problems (24.0%), and hypertension (22.7%).

COEXISTING IMPAIRMENTS

In 2012, the majority of people who reported a psychological disability reported having one or more other disabling conditions (88%). Around one-third (32.4%) reported having a sensory disability (that is, sight, hearing or speech loss/difficulties), while around two-thirds (67.4%) reported a physical disability.

The most commonly reported physical disability for people with psychological disability was restriction in physical activities or work (56.8%), followed by chronic or recurring pain or discomfort (38.3%). Around two out of every five (39.4%) people with psychological disability also reported difficulties in learning or understanding, that is, an intellectual disability, a rate almost four times higher than that for people with a disability other than psychological (10.5%).

Of all people with psychological disability in 2012, two-thirds (66.9%) had an ‘other’ disability, that is, they reported a limitation, restriction or impairment that was outside the standard disability types as classified in the 2012 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers however reported that it restricted their everyday activities and had lasted, or was likely to last, for at least six months.