Pre-pandemic, most Cypriots felt in good health

Pre-COVID, eight out of 10 Cypriots consider their health status as good or very good, according to the 2019 European Health Interview Survey published this week.

The report provides statistical information on the health status of the population.

According to the main findings of the survey, 80.9% of the population aged over 15 consider their health status as good or very good, 14.2% fair and 4.9% bad or very bad.

The most frequent long-standing health problems are hypertension, hyperlipidemia (i.e. having high blood cholesterol), low back pain or other chronic back defects, neck pain or other chronic neck disorders, arthrosis (arthritis excluded) and diabetes.

Moreover, 88.1% of the population aged over 55 can perform the main activities of daily living such as eating, sitting and getting up out of bed, dressing, bathing and using the toilet, without any difficulty.

During the past 12 months, 8.3% of the population was admitted to a hospital or clinic as an inpatient.

Also, during the past 12 months, 67.6% of the population aged over 15 visited a GP or family doctor while 64.6% visited a medical or surgical specialist.

Some 59.3% visited a dentist or an orthodontist.

Among the population, the majority 74.5% did not smoke while 22.5% smoke daily and 3% smoke occasionally.