Media Release
5 February 2007
Ministry Releases Publication Containing Latest Stats On the Health of Older People
A health chartbook containing a wide range of statistics on the health of New Zealand's older people has today been released by the Ministry of Health.
Published by Public Health Intelligence (PHI), the Ministry's epidemiology group, the chartbook presents a broad range of key health indicators and provides a health profile of older people in New Zealand.
The Health of Older People Strategy, released in 2002 by the Government, aims to improve outcomes for older people in our community. The chartbook will provide information which will support implementation of the Strategy.
Manager (Epidemiologist) of Public Health Intelligence Dr Barry Borman says, "in 2001, around 12% of New Zealand's total population was aged 65 years and over and this is expected to increase to 19% by 2021 so this Older People's Health Chartbook will be a valuable tool for the Ministry, other government agencies, District Health Boards and other health providers planning future health services for older people."
The chartbook shows that ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of death for males and females in all age groups 65 years and over.
"Older people aged 65 years and over had higher rates for most chronic diseases compared to the comparison age group (50-64 years). That includes higher rates of all types of cardiovascular disease mortality and hospitalisation, all types of cancer mortality, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality and hospitalisation and higher prevalences of diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis", says Dr Borman.
Those aged 65 years and over were significantly more likely to report that they had seen a GP in the last 12 months than those aged 50-64 years and the most common reason for visiting their GP was for a routine check-up or for health advice.
Barry Borman says, "the chartbook also describes differences between older people in residential care compared with those residents in permanent private dwellings, however it is worth noting that when comparing the two groups, the residential care group is markedly older than the private dwelling population and people in residential care are also usually disabled as admission to residential care is regulated through needs-based assessments.
The chartbook shows those in age groups 65-74 years and 75-84 years living in residential care were significantly more likely to report that they had used or been admitted to a public hospital in the last 12 months than were their counterparts in private dwellings.
Older people in residential care were more likely to be less active than those in private dwellings.
He says, "older Maori people had a worse health status than their non-Maori counterparts in a range of indicators, including higher hospitalisation and mortality rates for almost all types of cardiovascular disease, almost all types of cancer excluding colorectal cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. At the age of 50 years, both Maori males and females had a shorter life expectancy than non-Maori."
Dr Borman says data on dementia, incontinence and oral health could not be included in the chartbook, due to either the unavailability of data or the lack of reliable data, however it's hoped that future Health of Older People Chartbooks will be able to include information such as this.
The Health of Older People Chartbook is the twelfth in a series of similar chartbooks produced by the PHI, including chartbooks looking at the population health status of Maori, Pacific peoples and Asian peoples.
Background Information
The chartbook collates existing health related data for older people in New Zealand from multiple sources, such as the New Zealand Health Information Service, New Zealand Cancer Registry, Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand Health Survey and the New Zealand Household Disability Survey.
Health Risk and Protective Factors
The prevalences of physical activity and regular physical activity were considerably lower in older age groups than in younger groups, particularly for females.
For people aged 85+ years, the combined prevalences of overweight and obesity were significantly lower than for those aged 50-64 years.
The prevalences of current smoking were generally lower in older people, particularly for those aged 75-84 years. Older people were less likely to drink alcohol or to engage in potentially hazardous drinking than people aged 50-64 years.
Health Status
Older females had both longer life expectancy and longer healthy life expectancy than older males.
Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death for both females and males in all age groups.
Self-ratings of physical health were generally worse among older age groups than among younger age groups.
Compared with the age group of 50-64 years, older people were significantly more likely to have four or more chronic conditions.
All hospitalisation and mortality rates for cardiovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were significantly higher in older age groups.
The prevalence of arthritis among older people was almost double that of their counterparts in the younger comparison group.
Older people had significantly lower rates of hospitalisation for intentional self-harm than those aged 50-64 years. The rates of suicide mortality were significantly higher for males than for females in all age groups.
Health Service Utilisation
Almost all older people reported that a general practitioner (GP) was their usual health practitioner.
For all age groups, getting a routine check-up or health advice was significantly more common than any other reason for visiting a GP in the last 12 months.
Compared with the younger age groups, older people were significantly more likely to report that they had used a public hospital or had been admitted to one as a patient in the last 12 months, but were significantly less likely to report that they had seen a dentist or dental therapist, or an alternative health care provider.
Of those people who had visited a GP in the last 12 months, significantly more people among the older age groups had received 15 or more prescriptions than those aged 50-64 years.
Health of older Maori
Maori males aged 50-64 years were significantly more likely than their non-Maori counterparts to report doing physical activity.
The prevalence of current smoking (self-reported) among Maori females was about three times higher than among their non-Maori counterparts.
Both Maori females and males at the age of 50 years had shorter life expectancy and healthy life expectancy (partial) than their non-Maori counterparts.
Maori had higher hospitalisation and mortality rates for all types of cardiovascular disease, cancer (except colorectal cancer) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than their non-Maori counterparts.
The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed diabetes was over two and a half times higher in Maori males aged 50-64 years than in their non-Maori counterparts. The rates for renal failure and lower limb amputation with concurrent diabetes were also significantly higher in Maori than non-Maori.
Health of older people in residential care
Older people in residential care were more likely to be physically sedentary than their counterparts in private dwellings.
The prevalences of stroke (self-reported) were significantly higher among females aged 75-84 years and males 65-74 and 74-84 years in residential care than among their private dwelling counterparts.
Older people in residential care were less likely to report that they had seen a nurse (excluding hospital nurses) or a pharmacist, but were more likely to report that they had visited a physiotherapist or had used or been admitted to a private hospital than their counterparts in private dwellings.
ENDS
Related information
Older People’s Health Chart Book 2006
Health of Older People
Public Health IntelligenceFor further information, please contact:
Victoria Evans
Media Advisor
Ph: 04 496 2036