N° 03/2013 Perception of health

72.5% of Luxembourg residents claim to be in good or very good health (26.0% very good and 46.5% good health). In contrast, 7.9% of the population of Luxembourg say they are in bad or very bad health. Nearly 20% believe that their health is average. Other indicators of perceived health: 19.0% of the residents consider to be limited in their daily activities because of a health problem for at least 6 months and 20.9% mentioned a long-standing illness or health problem. Perception of health deteriorates sharply with age. Almost half of the 75-84 year old (45%) say they are limited in their daily activities. For the 55-64 age group, the percentage is 26% and for the 16-24 age group, it is only 6%. Older women face more often health problems. 53% of women aged 75-84 feel limited in their daily activities because of a health problem, against only 36% of men in this age group. 30.3% of women aged 75 to 84 claim to be in bad or very bad health, against only 16.5% of men in this age bracket. Life expectancy at birth for women is 5 years higher than that of men: 83.6 years against 78.5 years. However, the difference in life expectancy in good health between men and women is quite small. At age 65, men can expect to live 17.8 years, but only 11.5 years without limitation of daily activities (healthy life years). Women at the age of 65, have a life expectancy of 21.6 years, but the number of years of life without limitation of daily activities is only 11.8 years. Inequalities in health are significant. Over 23% of those located in the first income quintile (the 20% lowest income) reported an activity limitation due to health problems, whereas the corresponding figure is only 14% for those with the highest incomes (fifth quintile). 32.2% of the unemployed feel limited in their daily activities because of a health problem, against 12.5% of employed persons.