CSO figures reveal chronic back pain a common condition in Ireland

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed hypertension, chronic back pain and high cholesterol were the most common ailments reported.

Hypertension (11%) was the most prevalent condition reported by adults followed by chronic back conditions (10%) and high cholesterol (10%). See table 3.

For young adults (those aged 18-24 years), asthma (10%) was the most prevalent condition followed by chronic back pain (4%) and anxiety/depression (2%). See table 3.

The prevalence of arthritis (osteo and rheumatoid) was higher in women (9%) than in men (5%) and also increases with age in both sexes. See table 3.

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For the majority of conditions a higher prevalence was found among older people than among younger age groups.

The difference was far greater for some conditions with, for example, 35% of persons aged 70 and over reporting a diagnosis of hypertension compared with fewer than 5% of persons in each of the three youngest age groups. See table 3.