Minister Donnelly and Minister Feighan launch the results of the Healthy Ireland Survey 2021

Minister Donnelly and Minister Feighan launch the results of the Healthy Ireland Survey 2021

• Drinking: 42% of drinkers are stating they are drinking less with binge drinking down significantly, reduced to 15% of the population as compared to 28% before the pandemic
• Weight: Almost 3 out of 10 people (29%) report that their weight has increased, with weight increases reported most often by women over 30 and mothers.
• Health and Social Connectedness: 81% report lower levels of social connectedness and 30% report worsening mental health since the start of the pandemic.

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, the Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Well Being and National Drugs Strategy, Frank Feighan TD, and the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, have today launched the results of the annual Healthy Ireland survey.

The survey represents a detailed insight of a time interval during which necessary COVID-19 restrictions had a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland.

Minister Donnelly said:

Minister of State, Frank Feighan, TD said:

The survey indicated that the amount of people drinking alcohol at least once a week dropped to 37% from 41%, and even more significantly, those who report binge drinking (consuming more than 6 standard drinks on any one occasion), have reduced from 28% of the population to 15%. Another significant finding is that 84% of the population (and 90% of women of reproductive age), correctly identify alcohol consumption during pregnancy as unsafe.

Levels of smoking remain similar to those seen in previous years, with 18% of the population smoking daily. Levels noted in 2019 were 17%, but given the change in methodology, it is unlikely that the percentage point change is statistically significant.

It is clear that the COVID-19 restrictions had a clear impact in a number of areas. Most notably, 81% report lower levels of social connectedness, with 30% report worsening mental health since the start of the pandemic. Findings on suicide awareness note that 13% of people responding to that module have lost someone close to them by suicide.

Additional mental health investments in 2022 will allow for developments in the area of enhanced community mental health teams, crisis resolution teams and the national mental health clinical programme on self-harm, among many others.

In terms of social connectedness, the HSE launched the Social Prescribing Framework in 2021 and are increasing their supports in this important area.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, commented:

This is the seventh summary of the findings from the Healthy Ireland survey and adds to the data collected in the previous surveys published from 2015 - 2019. previous surveys

A representative sample of 7,454 people aged 15 and older, living in all regions of Ireland, were interviewed between October 2020 and March 2021.

Unlike previous waves of the survey, which were conducted via personal interview, in the respondents’ own homes, Wave 7 interviews were conducted by computer-aided telephone interview (CATI) in order to remove infection risks in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessary change in methodology does, however, mean that small changes in trends noted in this wave of the survey as compared to previous waves, may not be statistically significant.

The survey gives an up-to-date picture of the health of the nation and reports on many lifestyle behaviours, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, antibiotic usage, social connectedness and mental health and GP utilisation.

This year’s survey includes a special report focusing on the impact of Covid-19 on health behaviours and also the results of a new module on suicide awareness.

The data from Healthy Ireland Surveys are used to underpin policy development and implementation, to monitor, measure and evaluate progress in implementing various elements of the Healthy Ireland Framework, as well as to meet many international reporting obligations, including to the OECD, the EU and the WHO.

Appendix 1: Main findings:

Smoking

• 18% of the population are current smokers, a decline of 5 percentage points since the first wave of this survey in 2015 and roughly equivalent to smoking levels in seen in 2018
• 16% smoke daily and 2% occasionally
• smoking in 25-34 year-olds has declined by 6 percentage points to 20% since 2019
• 24% of 45-54 year-olds now have the highest prevalence of smoking (24%)
• 44% of all who smoked in the last 12 months have attempted to quit
• 27% of those who attempted to quit in the last 12 months were successful.
• 4% of the population have used e-cigarettes, with those aged under 25 most likely to have used them

Alcohol consumption

• 66% of people have consumed alcohol in the previous 6 months, with those aged 15-24 (70%) and men (68%) most likely to do so
• 37% of the population aged 15 and older drink alcohol at least once a week. This compares to 41% in the previous measurement in 2018
• 15% of the population (22% of drinkers) binge drink on a typical drinking occasion. This compares to 28% (37% of drinkers) in 2018
• 84% of the population (and 90% of women of reproductive age) correctly identified drinking during pregnancy as unsafe

Diet, Nutrition, Weight Management

• 36% of people report consuming 2 or more unhealthy snack foods daily, with 24% consuming one unhealthy snack on a daily basis. This is broadly unchanged from the 2016 Survey (35% and 25% respectively)
• 29% of people consume sugar sweetened drinks on a weekly basis, with 8% drinking these on a daily basis
• 65% of people eat fruit on a daily basis, with 75% consuming vegetables daily.
• on average, people eat 2.9 portions of fruit and vegetables daily, with 34% eating the recommended 5 portions per day or more
• 35% of people report trying to lose weight

General Health

• 84% perceive their health to be good or very good, 3% rate their health as bad or very bad.
• 28% of respondents report having a long-term illness or chronic condition that has lasted 6 months or more
• the most commonly diagnosed conditions are high blood pressure (6%), arthritis (5%), asthma (4%), diabetes (4%) and high cholesterol (3%)

Social Connectedness and the impacts of COVID-19

• 81% report being less socially connected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 30% reporting *42% of drinkers report that they drink less since the start of the Covid-19 restrictions, with 44% reporting that their drinking has not changed and 13% report that they are now drinking more.
• the overall prevalence of smoking has not changed significantly since 2018-2019, however a significant minority of smokers report changes in behaviour in response to the pandemic, with 28% smoking more and 21% smoking less
• 29% report gaining weight during the pandemic, with 11% reporting weight loss.
• those reporting increases in smoking and drinking alcohol – are also more likely to report an increase in weight. Almost half (49%) of those who are drinking more alcohol report that their weight has increased, as do 42% of those who are smoking more
• those whose mental health has worsened are more likely to report that they are drinking and smoking more than before.

Mental Health and Suicide Awareness

• 30% of respondents say their mental health worsened since the beginning of necessary public health restrictions in March 2020. 64% report no change, with only 5% saying their mental health has improved.
• among those whose mental health has worsened, 28% say it has declined “a lot”, while 71% say it has declined “a little”.
• negative mental health was measured using the Mental Health Index-5 (MHI-5). The average MHI-5 score in this wave is 76.0 - a decline from an average score of 81.2 in the 2016 Healthy Ireland Survey (the last time this was measured)
• the Healthy Ireland survey has included an online module on suicide awareness, which was completed by about a third of respondents. individuals for whom suicide resonates more strongly may have been more likely to take part in this module, meaning that caution is necessary when applying the results of this part of the survey to the overall population.
• 1 in 8 respondents report losing someone close or very close to them via suicide
• 6% of respondents report having attempted to take their own life at some point in the past.

GP Utilisation and Antibiotic Awareness

• 66% report having visited a GP in the previous 12 months with an average of 3.3 visits per person among all aged 15 and older.
• this is lower than the previous wave of this survey in 2019 which identified that 73% had visited a GP within the preceding 12 months, with an average of 4.5 visits per person.
• the majority (60%) of GP consultations took place in the GP surgery, with 37% taking place over the phone. Other types of consultations included online video (2%) and in-home (1%).
• 27% report taking an antibiotic in the previous 12 months
• 78% of respondents correctly agreed that antibiotics can kill bacteria. 65% of respondents correctly disagreed that antibiotics can kill viruses.

Making Changes

• 42% of those who have gained weight report that they would like to control their weight or lose weight.
• those whose mental health has worsened are noteworthy in their desire to make changes to improve their health and wellbeing. Almost all (95%) of this group identify at least one change that they would like to make
• those drinking more during periods in which necessary public health restrictions were in place - the majority did not identify a need to reduce their alcohol consumption to improve their health and wellbeing.
• depending on the extent of consumption increase, this is likely to be of concern