General health
The HSE collects data on three measures to give a picture of England’s general health: self-assessed general health, longstanding illness and acute sickness. The data for these measures show that there is no single trend in our general health over time.
Adults with good or very good overall health
Source: NHS Digital
Base: Adults aged 16 and over
Notes: General health is self-assessed with the question: How is your health in general. Would you say it was very good, good, fair, bad, or very bad?
Year-on-year fluctuations may not indicate real changes and can be within the margins of sampling error. We comment only on the changes that are more likely to reflect a real change.
Adults with one or more longstanding illnesses
Source: NHS Digital
Base: Adults aged 16 and over
Notes: Since 2012, participants have been asked: Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more? Before 2012, the questions on longstanding illness were slightly different but were changed to be consistent with the harmonised disability questions designed for use in social surveys.
Year-on-year fluctuations may not indicate real changes and can be within the margins of sampling error. We comment only on the changes that are more likely to reflect a real change.
Adults with acute sickness
Source: NHS Digital
Base: Adults aged 16 and over
Notes: Acute sickness is self-assessed in the HSE. It is defined as any illness or injury (including any longstanding condition) that causes the participant to cut down on usual activities in the last two weeks.
Year-on-year fluctuations may not indicate real changes and can be within the margins of sampling error. We comment only on the changes that are more likely to reflect a real change.