A substantial proportion of people are suffering from multiple long-term health conditions by their late 40s, particularly those who lived in deprived areas in childhood or grew up in a poorer family.
According to the University College London study, 34% of adults aged 46-48 in 2016-18 had multiple chronic mental and physical health problems.
The most common combination of chronic health conditions in middle age included mental ill health and high blood pressure (4%); mental ill health and asthma (3%); mental ill health and arthritis (2.5%) and diabetes and high blood pressure (2%).
The study used data from an nationally representative group of 8,000 adults whose data was collected in the 1970 British Cohort Study. The group took part in a biomedical survey in 2016-18 that measured their blood pressure and took a blood sample to check for diabetes. They were also asked to report if they had a chronic health condition.
Health in midlife
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Adults from the poorest families in childhood were at 43% greater risk of having multiple long-term health conditions in midlife compared to those from the most privileged families. They also had an almost three-and-a-half times higher risk of suffering from mental ill health and arthritis, and three times the risk of having poor mental health and high blood pressure in their late 40s.
The study also found that
- 26% engaged in high-risk drinking
- 21% had recurrent back issues
- 19% experienced mental health problems
- 16% had high blood pressure
- 12% were suffering from asthma or bronchitis
- 8% had arthritis
- 5% had diabetes
Lead author Dr Dawid Gondek, from the UCL Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, said the research pointed to stark health inequalities which appear to begin in early life.
“Compared to previous generations, it appears that the health of British adults in midlife is on the decline. With earlier studies finding links between poor health in adulthood and lower life satisfaction, lower earnings and early retirement, public health guidance should focus on helping the population improve their health in midlife so they can age better, stay economically active and continue to lead fulfilling lives,” he said.
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Professor George Ploubidis, from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, said: “We found that adults from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, those who had been overweight or obese as children and those who had experienced mental ill health as teenagers were all at increased risk of poor health later on.
“If these links reflect causal effects, policy and practice targeting these core areas in childhood and adolescence may improve the health of future generations and alleviate potential pressures on the NHS.”
