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Background: Within the European Union (EU), substantial efforts are being made to achieve economic and social cohesion, and the reduction of health inequalities between EU regions is integral to this process. This paper is the first to examine how self-reported conditions and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) vary spatially between and within countries. Methods: Using 2014 European Social Survey (ESS) data from 20 countries, this paper examines how regional inequalities in self-reported conditions and NCDs vary for men and women in 174 regions (levels 1 and 2 Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units, 'NUTS'). We document absolute and relative inequalities across Europe in the prevalence of eight conditions: general health, overweight/obesity, mental health, heart or circulation problems, high blood pressure, back, neck, muscular or joint pain, diabetes and cancer. Results: There is considerable inequality in self-reported conditions and NCDs between the regions of Europe, with rates highest in the regions of continental Europe, some Scandinavian regions and parts of the UK and lowest around regions bordering the Alps, in Ireland and France. However, for mental health and cancer, rates are highest in regions of Eastern European and lowest in some Nordic regions, Ireland and isolated regions in continental Europe. There are also widespread and consistent absolute and relative regional inequalities in all conditions within countries. These are largest in France, Germany and the UK, and smallest in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. There were higher inequalities amongst women. Conclusion: Using newly available harmonized morbidity data from across Europe, this paper shows that there are considerable regional inequalities within and between European countries in the distribution of self-reported conditions and NCDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Aimed to compare the prevalence, characteristics, and associated mortality risk of frailty in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Methods Secondary analysis of the first wave of two nationally representative cohorts, the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing or NICOLA study (N  = 8504) and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing or TILDA study (N  = 8504). Frailty was assessed using a harmonized accumulation deficits frailty index (FI) containing 30 items. FI scores classified individuals as non-frail (<0.10), pre-frail (0.10–0.24) and frail (≥0.25). Linkage to respective administrative data sources provided mortality information with a follow-up time of 8 years. Results The prevalence of frailty was considerably higher in NI compared with the ROI (29.0% compared with 15.0%), though pre-frailty was slightly lower (35.8% and 37.3%, respectively). Age, female sex, and lower socio-economic status were consistently associated with a higher likelihood of both pre-frailty and frailty. In the pooled analysis, both frailty and pre-frailty were higher in NI (RR = 2.68, 95% CIs 2.45, 2.94 and RR = 1.30, 95% CIs 1.21, 1.40, respectively). Frailty was associated with an increased mortality risk in both cohorts, even after full adjustment for all other characteristics, being marginally higher in TILDA than in NICOLA (HR = 2.43, 95% CIs 2.03, 2.91 vs. HR = 2.31, 95% CIs 1.90, 2.79). Conclusions Frailty is a major public health concern for both jurisdictions. Further research and monitoring are required to elucidate why there is a higher prevalence in NI and to identify factors in early life that may be driving these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies examining physical and mental non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe have so far largely either focused on limited numbers of countries or on fairly limited ranges of NCDs, with mental health in particular often being ignored. This article has three aims: (i) To provide a recent, comprehensive overview of a broad range of NCDs across a range of countries in all European regions; (ii) To give an overview of measures of physical and mental health in the new special rotating module in the European Social Survey (ESS); and (iii) To offer the first comprehensive comparison of estimates on physical and mental NCDs across European countries in this new promising data source. Methods: We use data from the 7th wave of the ESS. Results are presented separately for men and women. All results were age-standardized by weighting up or down the unstandardized (crude) prevalence rates for 5-year age groups in each country to a common standard. We present pooled estimates for the combined cross-national sample as well as country-specific results. Results: Overall, 74.1% of men and 79.7% of women reported at least one physical NCD. Across the 21 countries were observed that these percentages varied between 45.2% (for men in Hungary) and 91.6% (women in Finland). Serious depressive symptoms were reported by 10.2% of men and 18.8% of women, with percentages ranging between 6.2% (men in Ireland) and 30.9% (women in Portugal). Conclusions: A substantial share of Europeans experience the burden of NCDs, and the extent to which people report these conditions varies across countries. However, all physical and mental NCDs in this rotating module are reported by considerable percentages in each of the 21 country samples, which emphasizes that these conditions are not marginal phenomena but public health concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]