Almost one in eight people have long-term health problems

Almost one in eight adults in Cyprus have a long-standing health problem or disability, according to statistics released by the Statistical Service CYSTAT that are based on the Labour Force Survey 2002.

The report includes tables on the existence of long-term health problems or disabilities, the main categories of long-standing health problems, the cause and duration of the problems as well as the limitations encountered in relation to employment.

According to the findings, 53,426 persons aged between 16 and 64, or 12.2%, stated that they have a long-standing health problem or disability. This is almost one in eight people.

Less than half of these people (47.8%) work, 48.3% are counted as “inactive” and 3.9% are unemployed.

“Hidden unemployment” in the form of large numbers of recipients of disability benefits is a widespread phenomenon in Europe, which can also mask the true extent of unemployment.

Governments are now looking at ways to make it easier to help those with health or other physical problems into the workplace.

The report found that 30.2% of the persons with health problems face considerable restrictions in the kind of work that they could do; 28.6% face considerable restrictions in the amount of work they could do and 12.1% face considerable restrictions in their mobility to and from work.

The report found that the most frequent long-standing health problems are problems of the back, heart, blood pressure or circulation problems, problems with legs or feet, mental, nervous or emotional problems.

Occupational diseases account for only 4.4%, while diseases unrelated to occupation account for 74.8%.

The Labour Force Survey 2002 covered a sample of 3,500 households from all districts, while the specific module covered 6,805 persons aged 16-64 years.