Half of adults in Scotland now have a long-term health condition, new survey finds

The annual Scottish Health Survey has been published today by the Scottish Government, providing a detailed picture of the health of the Scottish population.

The latest survey, conducted by the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen), shows half of all adults now have at least one long-term health condition, continuing an upward trend since the survey began.  Almost two in five adults (39%) report having a long-term health condition that limits their activities. 

The survey was conducted in 2024 and covers topics including mental wellbeing, long-term conditions, perimenopause and menopause, diet and food insecurity, respiratory health, physical activity, smoking, vaping, alcohol and obesity.

Half of adults now live with a long-term health condition

Half of adults (50%) in Scotland reported living with at least one long-term health condition in 2024, the highest level recorded since the survey began. Almost two in five adults (39%) had a long-term condition which limited their day-to-day activities.

• Over four in five adults living with a long-term condition (81%) reported that it caused them at least one impairment, most often related to mobility (32%), stamina, breathing, or fatigue (28%) and / or mental health (26%).
• Eight per cent of adults reported having doctor-diagnosed diabetes, the highest level recorded since the survey’s inception in 1995.
• Prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma amongst adults reached 18%, the highest proportion recorded.

Mental wellbeing stabilises after post-pandemic recovery

• Average adult mental wellbeing remained broadly stable with a mean WEMWBS score of 48.5 in 2024, following the first post-pandemic increase in 2023 (48.9).
• Just over one in five adults (22%) recorded a GHQ-12 score of 4 or more, indicative of possible psychiatric disorder, similar to levels recorded in 2021 and 2023 (22% and 21%) but lower than the peak in 2022 (27%). One in four women (25%) reported a possible psychiatric disorder, significantly more than men (18%). Rates were highest among adults living in the most deprived areas (31%) compared with those living in the least deprived areas (17%).
• The proportion of adults who reported feeling lonely ‘most’ or ‘all of the time’ decreased from 10% in 2023 to 7% in 2024, similar to that reported in 2021 (8%).
  Menopause and perimenopause data reveal new insights
  For the first time, the survey asked detailed questions about the experience and management of menopause and perimenopause.
• Almost three quarters of those aged 45–55 (72%), and around half of those aged 56 and over (53%) for whom questions on menopause and perimenopause were applicable reported experiencing symptoms in the previous 12 months.
• Around six in ten (58%) of those experiencing symptoms had contacted a healthcare professional about their symptoms in the past year, most commonly a GP (45%).
• Around three quarters (76%) of those experiencing symptoms had used one or more ways of managing them, most commonly physical activity (40%), Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) (38%) and/or use of vitamins, minerals or supplements (35%).

Eating behaviours among younger adults raise concern

• New questions on eating behaviours showed that 13% of adults in Scotland self-reported attitudes and feelings towards food which were indicative of a potential eating disorder. This was highest among 16–24-year-olds (26%).
• Adults with attitudes and feelings towards food which were indicative of a potential eating disorder had a significantly lower average mental wellbeing score (42.2) compared with those who did not (49.4).

Smoking and vaping trends remain steady

• The proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes remained at 14% in 2024, continuing the long-term decline from 28% in 2003.
• Current use of e-cigarettes or vaping devices (10%) has remained in the range seen since 2022 (10–12%). Use was most common among young adults aged 16–24 (18%) and lowest among adults aged 75 and over (2%).

Paul Bradshaw, Director, Scottish Centre for Social Research, said: “This year’s survey paints a detailed picture of the health of people in Scotland. We see that half of adults are now living with at least one long-term health condition, and diabetes has reached its highest level on record.

Encouragingly, mental wellbeing seems to be stabilising, and loneliness has fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. The new questions on menopause and eating behaviours provide important insights into experiences that have previously been under-reported in national data and a solid baseline for measuring trends in future years”