Characteristics of the population (numbers and %) from health surveys* in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland
| NI health surveys‡ | RoI health surveys‡ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2001 | 2005/2006 | 2010/2011 | 1998 | 2002 | 2007 | ||
| Sample size | 3375 | 3751 | 3374 | 3239 | 5104 | 4627 | 8707 | |
| Gender | Males | 42.5 (1435) | 42.6 (1599) | 41.4 (1396) | 40.7 (1317) | 47.0 (2401) | 40.9 (1893) | 41.9 (3648) |
| Females | 57.5 (1940) | 57.4 (2152) | 58.6 (1978) | 59.3 (1922) | 53.0 (2703) | 59.1 (2734) | 58.1 (5059) | |
| Smoking | No | 64.9 (2189) | 67.7 (2538) | 71.4 (2410) | 74.2 (2404) | 66.6 (3377) | 72.7 (3362) | 69.8 (6079) |
| Yes | 35.1 (1186) | 32.3 (1213) | 28.5 (963) | 25.8 (835) | 32.1 (1640) | 26.5 (1224) | 29.0 (2526) | |
| 0.0 (1) | 1.7 (87) | 0.9 (41) | 1.2 (102) | |||||
| Diabetes | No | 97.6 (3295) | 97.5 (3657) | 96.9 (3270) | 95.6 (3095) | 98.3 (5019) | 96.9 (4485) | – |
| Yes | 2.4 (80) | 2.5 (94) | 3.1 (104) | 4.4 (144) | 1.7 (85) | 2.1 (99) | – | |
| Missing | – | – | – | – | – | 0.9 (43) | – | |
| Obesity | BMI<30 | 30.6 (1032) | – | 57.1 (1925) | 47.5 (1540) | 83.9 (4284) | 79.8 (3694) | 70.4 (6128) |
| BMI≥30 | 7.8 (262) | – | 20.4 (688) | 16.0 (517) | 10.2 (519) | 13.3 (616) | 13.0 (1132) | |
| Missing | 61.7 (2081) | – | 22.6 (761) | 36.5 (1182) | 5.9 (301) | 6.9 (317) | 16.6 (1497) | |
| Physical inactivity* | No | 49.9 (1833) d(33 115) | 51.7 (1744) (17 612 815) | 59.6 (1932) | 39.6 (2020) | 36.3 (1680) | 40.2 (3499) | |
| Yes | 51.1 (1916) | 48.3 (1630) | 39.9 (1293) | 60.4 (3084) | 63.7 (2947) | 59.8 (5208) | ||
| Missing | 0.1 (2) | 0.4 (14) | ||||||
| Educational attainment level | Third | 21.4 (724) | 23.7 (890) | 27.6 (930) | 32.5 (1051) | 32.6 (1665) | 38.5 (1779) | 41.5 (3610) |
| Secondary | 41.7 (1407) | 43.9 (1648) | 43.4 (1464) | 42.5 (1388) | 51.6 (2631) | 49.4 (2287) | 45.6 (3968) | |
| Primary | 36.7 (1244) | 32.3 (1213) | 29.1 (980) | 24.7 (800) | 15.8 (808) | 12.1 (561) | 13.0 (1129) | |
*Different physical inactivity questionnaires were used—IPAQ17 in NI and Godin18 in RoI.
‡Measures of educational inequality as defined by SII and RII for smoking, diabetes, obesity and physical inactivity by gender in NI and in RoI for available survey years and trend over time.
BMI, body mass index; IPAQ, International Physical Activity Questionnaire; NI, Northern Ireland; RII, Relative Index of Inequality (rate ratio); RoI, the Republic of Ireland; SII, Slope Index of Inequality (rate difference).