Health conditions prevalence

Health influences, and is influenced by, how we feel and how we interact with the world around us. Health is broader than just the presence or absence of disease, it reflects the complex interactions between a person’s genetic makeup, family environment, and social and economic conditions[1]. It is also affected by their perceptions, emotions, and behaviours[2].

Long-term health conditions are conditions which were current at the time of the survey interview and had lasted, or were expected to last, for 6 months or more. Eight in ten (81.4% or 20.7 million) people had at least one long-term health condition in 2022.

Selected chronic conditions are a subset of long-term health conditions that are common, pose significant health problems, and have been a focus of ongoing public health surveillance[3].

One in two (49.9% or 12.6 million) people had at least one chronic condition. Females were more likely to have at least one chronic condition than males (52.3% compared to 47.4%).

The most prevalent chronic conditions experienced in Australia in 2022 were:

• Mental and behavioural conditions – 26.1%
• Back problems – 15.7%
• Arthritis – 14.5%
• Asthma – 10.8%
• Diabetes – 5.3%
• Heart, stroke and vascular disease – 5.2%
• Osteoporosis – 3.4%
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – 2.5%
• Cancer – 1.8%
• Kidney disease – 1.0%.

Many people with chronic conditions often have more than one condition at the same time (multimorbidity)[3]. For example, of those who had COPD in 2022, almost nine in ten (86.6%) had another condition. The prevalence of multimorbidity varied across chronic conditions:

• COPD – 86.6%
• Heart, stroke and vascular disease – 84.8%
• Cancer – 82.0%
• Kidney disease – 80.5%
• Osteoporosis – 78.9%
• Diabetes – 78.2%
• Arthritis – 74.4%
• Back problems – 71.6%
• Asthma – 64.9%
• Mental and behavioural conditions – 51.8%.

As people age, the prevalence of both chronic conditions and multimorbidity increased.

Almost one in three (28.4%) people living in areas of most disadvantage had two or more chronic conditions, compared to one in eight (16.1%) of those living in areas of least disadvantage.

Prevalence of most health conditions typically increases with age. Eight in ten (81.4%) people had at least one long-term health condition in 2022, and almost all (99.2%) people aged 65 years and over had at least one long-term health condition.

Prevalence of other long-term health conditions included:

• More than a quarter (28.1%) of people were short sighted and three in ten (30.4%) were long sighted
• Almost one in four (23.9%) people reported hay fever or allergic rhinitis
• One in seven (14.0%) people had an allergy, including 7.0% who reported food allergies
• More than one in ten (11.5%) people reported feeling anxious, nervous or tense
• Around one in ten (9.6%) people had a hearing impairment (partial or complete deafness)
• One in fourteen people (7.1%) reported feeling depressed
• One in fifteen (6.6%) people experienced migraine
• Around one in fifty (2.3%) females had endometriosis.

See the National Health Survey 2022 data downloads for the full suite of available data. Data relating to Health conditions prevalence can be found in tables:

• TABLE 1 Summary health characteristics, 2001 to 2022
• TABLE 2 Summary health characteristics, by states and territories
• TABLE 3 Long-term health conditions, by age and sex
• TABLE 4 Selected long-term health conditions, by population characteristics
• TABLE 5 Selected long-term health conditions, by health risk factors and health status
• TABLE 15 Number of chronic conditions, by population characteristics, by age
• TABLE 16 Comorbidity of selected chronic conditions, by age and sex.

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, ‘What is health?’, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/what-is-health; accessed 15/11/2023.
2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, ‘Australia’s health 2022: data insights’, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2022-data-insights/about; accessed 15/11/2023.
3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, ‘Chronic conditions and multimorbidity’, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/chronic-conditions-and-multimorbidity; accessed 15/11/2023.

See National Health Survey 2022 media release for more information.