Factors affecting health in older people

The main Scottish Health Survey report from 2018 contains data on a number of different risk factors broken down by age, allowing comparisons between the age groups. A range of indicators are also available at a local authority level in the ScotPHO Profiles.

Below are a selected number of factors that vary by age and adversely effect health:

Alcohol-related hospitalisations (2019/20, ScotPHO alcohol health harm, Alcohol-Related Hospital Statistics) and deaths (MESAS Monitoring report ) are highest for those aged 55-64 years, falling in those in older age groups.

Smoking prevalence in adults decreases with age (see our Tobacco use: adult smoking by age group and gender page).

Obesity prevalence is relatively high in those 65-74, but is slightly lower in those over 75 years of age (see Obesity in adults ScotPHO page).

Diet: older adults (aged 65 years and above) are slightly less likely to be eating the recommended five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day than ypounger age groups (2019, see our Diet and nutrition: adults page).

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.