Hälsa på lika villkor? - Statens folkhälsoinstitut

Summary
halsa på lika villkor? 11
According to the Swedish National Institute of Public Health’s public health surveys of 2005-2007,
approximately 1.5 million people aged 16 to 84 years had one or more disabilities. In the 16 to
64 age group, slightly more than one million and in the 65 to 84 age group years slightly more than
0.5 million had one or more disabilities. Disability increases with age and persons with disabilities
more often have little education and a worse financial situation than the rest of the population. There
were also significantly fewer who worked professionally among those with a disability than in the
rest of the population. A large part of the collective illness was among persons with a disability.
When those with hearing impairments, visual impairments or motor disabilities were compared
with each other and the entire group with disabilities, it turned out that illness almost consistently
was largest among those with motor disabilities. In many cases, illness has a direct relationship
with disability, but a large proportion of illness has a relationship with known determinants such as
financial insecurity, discrimination and lack of access.
Health can be improved
The question is if health is worse than it should be among those with disabilities. Can health be
improved? It appears to be so that the risk (odds ratio) of poor health decreases by 37 percent for
men and 29 percent for women when age, level of education, lacking cash margins, sedentary leisure
time, daily smoking, obesity, insulting personal treat ment and social participation are made control
variables. This means that health can be improved among persons with disabilities by improving
their financial conditions, reducing insulting treatment (discrimination), increasing social participation
and changing certain habits.
Poor health ten times more common
Having poor health was ten times more common among those with disabilities than in the rest of
the population. The proportion of those with poor health was largest among men and women with
motor disabilities, with 43 percent of the men and 32 percent of the women reporting a poor general
state of health.
Diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure were more common among persons with disabilities
than in the rest of the population. Severe pain in the motor organs was also significantly more common
among those with disabilities than in the rest of the population. Severe pain was most common
among men and women with motor dis abilities. Tinnitus, incontinence and stomach-intestinal
ailments were also more common among men and women with disabilities than in the rest of the
population. Tinnitus was most common among those with hearing impairments. Incontinence and
stomach-intestinal ailments were most common among persons with motor disabilities.
Mental illness almost three times more common
Headaches, severe difficulties with fatigue and severe sleeping difficulties were signifi cantly more
common among persons with disabilities than in the rest of the population. These ailments were
most common among persons with motor disabilities.
The proportion with severe difficulties of nervousness, worry or anxiety and diminished mental
well-being were significantly greater among men and women with disabilities than in the rest of the
population. The proportion with these ailments was largest among men and women with disabilities
that also lacked cash margins.