This report presents a North/South profile of physical and mental health, lifestyles and the experience of health services. It was commissioned by the Department of Health and Children and compares health and lifestyles in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland using the population surveys Slán 2007 and NIHSWS 2005.
Some of the key findings from the report show that:
- Almost twice as many women in Northern Ireland (30%) had been tested for cervical cancer in the previous 12 months compared to the Republic (16%)
- Women in higher social classes in the Republic were significantly more likely to have been tested than women in lower social classes
- A statistically significantly higher percentage of respondents in the Republic of Ireland (29%) were current smokers compared to Northern Ireland (26%)
- One-quarter of respondents in both Northern Ireland (25%) and the Republic (24%) were classified as ‘obese’ according to their BMI
- A further 36% in Northern Ireland and 39% in the Republic were ‘overweight’.
- In Northern Ireland, one-fifth of respondents (19%) reported drinking above the recommended upper limit (i.e. 14 units of alcohol for women, 21 units of alcohol for men) compared to one in 10 respondents in the Republic of Ireland (10%).
