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Population health status

According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Human health is assessed based on the results of a medical examination, but the physical health status often does not coincide with how a person actually feels. Therefore, it is important to hear how people themselves perceive their health.

Self-perceived general health

During the survey, residents were asked to rate their health by choosing one of the answer options: very good, good, neither good nor bad, bad, very bad.

In 2019, more than half (52 per cent) of Lithuania’s population perceived their health as very good or good, 36 per cent – neither good nor bad, 12 per cent – bad or very bad. Men gave better assessment of their health than women, which may have been influenced by difference in population composition by age: the proportion of older women is relatively higher than that of men.

• 58 per cent of men and 48 per cent of women rated their health as very good or good.
• 38 per cent of women and 32 per cent of men perceived their health as neither good nor bad.
• One in ten (10 per cent) men and one in seven (14 per cent) women rated their health as bad or very bad.

Self-perceived health by sex, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Older persons tend to rate their health worse than younger ones. 90 per cent of population aged 15–24 perceived their health as very good or good (in 2014, 91 per cent). 43 per cent of persons aged 75 and older rated their health as bad or very bad (in 2014, 51 per cent), 8 per cent – very good or good (in 2014, 5 per cent).

Self-perceived health by age group, 2014 and 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

The results of the surveys carried out in 2005, 2014 and 2019 show an increasing improvement in terms of self-perceived health.

Self-perceived health, 2005, 2014 and 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Self-perceived general oral health

Good oral health is an important component of overall health because the ability to chew is an essential function that has a direct impact on a person’s overall health.

During the survey, population rated their general oral (teeth and gums) health:

44 per cent of population perceived it as very good and good, 37 per cent – neither good nor bad, one in five (20 per cent) respondents – bad or very bad.

Younger persons rate their oral health better than older ones.

Self-perceived general oral health, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Self-perceived general oral health by age group and sex, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Self-perceived general oral health by age group, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Persons having high educational attainment level tend to rate their oral health better than those having lower educational attainment level. The received data show that the best assessment of general oral health is provided by men having high educational attainment level, the worst – by women having low educational attainment level.

• 58 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women having high educational attainment level perceived their general oral health as very good or good.
• 35 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men having low educational attainment level perceived their general oral health as bad or very bad.

Self-perceived general oral health by educational attainment level, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Self-perceived general oral health by educational attainment level and sex, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

70 per cent of women and 62 per cent of men in the fifth (the richest) income quintile group perceive their general oral health as very good or good.

Self-perceived general oral health by income quintile group, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Self-perceived general oral health by income quintile group and sex, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Pain

Physical pain has a major impact on a person’s quality of life. Long-lasting pain results in impairment of physical functions, deterioration in emotional state and interaction between people. The survey results showed that in the period of 4 weeks before the survey, more than half (57 per cent) of population had physical body pain (in 2014, 53 per cent). Data by sex showed that body pain is less often experienced by men than women (women– 63 per cent, men – 50 per cent). Compared to 2014, proportion of women who had body pain grew by 3, that of men – 5 percentage points.

Proportion of population who had physical pain, 2014 and 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Proportion of population who had physical pain by sex, 2014 and 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Proportion of the elderly who had severe or very severe pain is several times higher than that of young people. Severe and very severe pain was experienced by 22 per cent of population aged 75 and older and 4 per cent of persons aged 15–24.

Proportion of population who had physical pain by age group, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Proportion of population who had physical pain by age group and sex, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Mental health

Mental health is an integral and significant part of health. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) was used as a measure of mental health assessment. Assessment of prevalence of depression symptoms and their severity was carried out based on this questionnaire.

The data analysis showed that in the period of two weeks before the survey, 18 per cent of population felt the symptoms of depression (in 2014, 12 per cent). The symptoms of depression were felt by almost twice as many women as men (23 and 12 per cent respectively).

Compared to 2014, the proportion of population aged 15–34 having depression symptoms grew from 10 to 31 per cent.

Prevalence of depression, 2014 and 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

The number of persons having depression symptoms of various severity increases with age. Compared to 2014, the proportion of population aged 55–64 grew from 16 to 22 per cent, aged 65–74– from 19 to 21 per cent, aged 75 and older – from 33 to 35 per cent.

Prevalence of depression by age group, 2014 and 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.

Prevalence of depression by sex, 2019

Per cent

The latest and detailed data are available in the Database of Indicators.