UK HEALTH STATISTICS Back...
It was difficult to find consistent and reliable United Kingdom health figures. To be more precise, what we were looking for was U.K. statistics on human illness or poor health. Material seems to be highly fragmented and is also presented in different ways from place to place. For example, sometimes there are totals, sometimes there are percentages, sometimes gender percentages, sometimes age bands, etc., etc. Sometimes the information which you find leaves you wondering: "OK, but how many?"
However, we have spent quite a lot of time with Google and with the links which it offers, so the figures which we present below should be reasonably close to the truth. If we quote 10 million people as being ill with something specific, it is likely to be over 9 million and under 11 million. That is accurate enough for the needs of the current discussion. We are interested in the grand total, rather than the individual totals.
Many types of illness have not been studied. We did not try to include figures for undisclosed or undiagnosed illnesses. We have not investigated the indirect effects of somebody's poor health on their family or community members. The figures offered here are just for guidance and are not definitive.
LEICESTERSHIRE AND LEICESTER CITY HEALTH
The health of people in Leicestershire, i.e. the rural areas outside of Leicester City, is generally better than the England average. Deprivation is lower than average. However, around 14,000 children live in poverty. Life expectancy is higher than average. (2014 data)
The health of people in Leicester City is generally worse than the England average. Deprivation is higher than average and over 22,000 children live in poverty. Leicester is the 25th most deprived area of 324 Local Authority areas. Life expectancy is lower than average. (2012 data)
ILLNESS TYPES COVERED
We present figures below related to the numbers of people suffering from ADHD/ADD, Alcohol and Liver problems, Arthritis, Asthma, High Blood Pressure, Cancer, Diabetes, Depression, Eczema, Hay Fever, Headaches and Migraine, Heart related disorders, Neurotic disorders, Obesity.
OUR ESTIMATED UK HEALTH STATISTICS
The following are roughly 10 million people each: Alcohol and Liver problems, Arthritis, Depression, Hay Fever, Headaches and Migraine, Neurotic disorders. The total of these is 60 million people.
Next, High Blood Pressure 16 million, Obesity 12 million, Asthma 5 million, Eczema 5 million. So, 38 million more.
Finally, Diabetes 3.7 million, Heart related disorders 2.5 million, ADHD/ADD 1 million, Cancer 0.5 million. The total here is 7.7 million.
GRAND TOTAL OF ILLNESSES
The grand total is 60 + 38 + 7.7 = 105.7 million. Say just 105 million, as a 'round figure'. For a national population of roughly 60 million, this is a very worrying result. If we had looked at more illness types, the grand total would have been even higher.
It is certain that many people will be suffering from two or more forms of illness: If every ill person had two types of illness that would mean 105 / 2 = 52.5 million people are ill, which is 87.5 per cent of the United Kingdom's population. That might seem too extreme a result to be credible.
Now let's adjust the calculation, to find out if is as little as 60 per cent of the population could be ill: If 40 per cent of 60 million people are well, that makes 24 million. The 105 million illnesses need to be shared by 36 million people who are ill. That is about 2.9 illnesses per person.
CONCLUSION (5th December 2014)
So, we deduce from some simple calculations that perhaps 60 per cent of the UK population is very sick, with nearly three illnesses each, or that almost 90 per cent of people are sick with two illnesses each! We wrote on the previous page that the United Kingdom has 'almost epidemic levels of illness'. After carrying out the analysis here, it looks as if the word 'almost' could be removed.
NEWS UPDATE (10th December 2014)
The Health Survey for England - 2013 (opens in a new tab or window), published by the United Kingdom Government on 10th December 2014, reported that almost half the adult population were taking prescribed medication and that over 20 per cent were taking three medications.
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