Disability: limiting long-term health conditions and illness

Please note that data from the Scottish Health Survey 2020 are not directly comparable to earlier data due to Covid-19 restrictions impacting data collection at the time. These data have not been included here. For more information visit Scottish Health Survey 2020.

The data presented in this section are mainly drawn from the Scottish Surveys Core Questions (SSCQ). This source pools data from the core questions included in the Scottish Health Survey, Scottish Household Survey and the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey. These estimates are not comparable with those presented in previous years (based on the Scottish Household Survey alone). The Scottish Health Survey is the recommended source for national estimates of long-term conditions while the SSCQ is recommended for analyses at sub-national level (see here for a more detailed explanation).

The Scottish Health Survey estimates that 35% of adults aged 16 years and over in Scotland in 2019 had a limiting long-term physical or mental health condition, or illness. The pooled SSCQ estimate is lower: 26%. The remaining data presented below are based on the SSCQ.

Chart 1 shows that for both men and women, prevalence of disability - using this definition - increases steadily with age.

Chart 2 shows the proportion of adults reporting a limiting long-term health condition or illness in 2019 by the 2020 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile. SIMD is the Scottish Government's official measure of area-based multiple deprivation. One third (34%) of adults living in quintile 1 (most deprived) report a limiting long-term health condition or illness compared with 16% of adults in quintile 5 (least deprived).

Chart 3 shows the percentage of adults within each NHS board who reported a long-term health condition or illness in 2019. Nationally, 26% of adults fell into this category; at NHS board level, the figures vary from 19% (Shetland Islands) to 31% (Fife).

Chart 4 presents the same data, but for council area rather than NHS board. In 2019, the highest percentage of adults with a long-term health condition or illness was found in South Ayrshire (32%) and the lowest in the Shetland Islands (19%).

(Please note that the data presented in charts 2-4 have not been age- or sex-standardised)

Please note: If you require the most up-to-date data available, please check the data sources directly as new data may have been published since these data pages were last updated. Although we endeavour to ensure that the data pages are kept up-to-date, there may be a time lag between new data being published and the relevant ScotPHO web pages being updated.