People with disability in Australia

Introduction

Chronic health conditions are often associated with some level of disability. This section explores how many people with one or more of 8 selected chronic conditions have disability, and how severe this disability is.

Chronic conditions covered in this section are:

• coronary heart disease
• stroke
• diabetes
• arthritis and related disorders
• back pain and problems
• osteoporosis
• asthma
• emphysema.

These chronic conditions were selected because they are common, pose significant health problems, have been the focus of recent AIHW surveillance projects and, in many instances, action can be taken to prevent their occurrence. See AIHW chronic disease for more information.

Chronic health conditions are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in Australia. About 5.5 million people in Australia are affected by at least one of the 8 chronic health conditions covered in this section. For most (3.7 million), the condition is reported as their main health condition (the condition causing them the most problems) (ABS 2019).

Chronic conditions often coexist with some form of disability:

• half (50% or 2.8 million) of people with at least one of the selected chronic conditions also have disability
• 40% (or 1.5 million) of people who have one of the selected chronic conditions as their main condition also have disability (ABS 2019).

It cannot be assumed that disability is a consequence of a chronic health condition. As such, this section describes only the associations between disability and the selected chronic conditions and does not describe a causal relationship.

Prevalence of disability within selected chronic conditions

The prevalence of disability for each selected chronic condition, as a main condition, varies widely (Figure CHRONIC.1). Among selected chronic conditions, people with asthma are the least likely to have disability (9.8% or 81,000). People with emphysema (78% or 44,000) or stroke (64% or 55,000) are the most likely to have disability.

Figure CHRONIC.1: Prevalence of disability among people with selected chronic conditions, by main condition and sex, 2018

Note: Restricted to people with one or more of the following long-term conditions: arthritis and related disorders, asthma, back problems (dorsopathies), coronary heart disease (including angina and myocardial infarction (heart attack)), diabetes, emphysema, osteoporosis, and stroke.

Source data tables: Data tables – Chronic conditions and disability. View data tables

For most of the 8 chronic conditions there is little difference between males and females in how likely a person is to have disability (Figure CHRONIC.1). The largest difference is for people with emphysema – 86% (or 21,000) of females with emphysema also have disability, compared with 70% (or 23,000) of males.

The prevalence of chronic conditions and disability both increase with age (see ‘Prevalence of disability’, and AIHW chronic disease). Reflecting this, older people (aged 65 and over) with each selected chronic condition are generally more likely than younger people (those aged under 65) to have disability (Figure CHRONIC.2).

While the prevalence of disability within chronic conditions generally increases with age, some chronic conditions are more likely associated with disability at all ages. The largest increases in disability within a chronic condition as people get older occur for:

• asthma (rising from 7.0% or 53,000 for those aged under 65, to 34% or 28,000 for those 65 and over)
• back problems (rising from 44% or 316,000 to 69% or 234,000).

Figure CHRONIC.2: Prevalence of disability among people with selected chronic conditions, by main condition, age group and sex, 2018

Notes:
* Relative standard error of 25–50% and should be used with caution.

1. Restricted to people with one or more of the following long-term conditions: arthritis and related disorders, asthma, back problems (dorsopathies), coronary heart disease (including angina and myocardial infarction (heart attack)), diabetes, emphysema, osteoporosis, and stroke.
2. The category ‘0–64’ has a relative standard error greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use for males with osteoporosis and females with coronary heart disease or emphysema. Therefore, these categories are not shown in this figure.

Source data tables: Data tables – Chronic conditions and disability. View data tables

Level of core activity limitation associated with selected chronic conditions

The level of core activity limitation associated with the 8 selected chronic conditions varies. Some conditions have lower levels of impact (in terms of people’s need for assistance in carrying out core activities), and others a high level.

Of the selected chronic conditions, stroke is associated with the highest likelihood of severe or profound core activity limitation:

• 42% (or 37,000) of people with stroke as their main condition have severe or profound core activity limitation
• 17% (or 15,000) have mild or moderate core activity limitation
• 39% (or 33,000) have no core activity limitations, but may still have disability not related to core activities.

Of the selected chronic conditions, asthma is associated with the lowest level of core activity limitation:

• 1.5% (or 13,000) of people with asthma as their main condition have severe or profound core activity limitation
• 4.6% (or 38,000) have mild or moderate core activity limitation
• 94% (782,000) have no core activity limitation, but may still have disability not related to core activities (Figure CHRONIC.3).

Figure CHRONIC.3: Level of core activity limitation, by main condition and age group, 2018

Notes:
* Relative standard error of 25–50% and should be used with caution.

1. Restricted to people with one or more of the following long-term conditions: arthritis and related disorders, asthma, back problems (dorsopathies), coronary heart disease (including angina and myocardial infarction (heart attack)), diabetes, emphysema, osteoporosis, and stroke.
2. Figures are rounded and discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals because of ABS confidentiality and perturbation processes. Numbers may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding.
3. Core activity limitation levels for people aged 0–64 with emphysema, coronary heart disease, or osteoporosis are not shown due to high level of uncertainty in the data.

Source data tables: Data tables – Chronic conditions and disability. View data tables