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Scottish Health Survey 2021

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 9th November 2022
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The annual report found a decline in overall mental wellbeing relative to recent years, and that 5% of adults reported having Long Covid.

The Scottish Government have published a report and data from the Scottish Health Survey 2021 (this link will take you away from our website). This annual survey investigates a range of health-related indicators and statistics, from engaging with thousands of adults and children in Scotland.

Findings on long term conditions indicate that 47% of adults are living with a long term condition, and 34% have a condition which limits their day-to-day activities. Average levels of mental wellbeing were found to have decreased since the last full survey carried out before the pandemic, with women more likely than men to report worse scores. Poor mental health broadly correlates with deprivation, with greatest prevalence of symptoms relating to depression and anxiety in the most deprived areas, and least prevalence in the least deprived.

Specific questions on Long Covid showed that 5% of adults reported having Long Covid, and 1% said that it limited their daily activities a lot. Mental wellbeing was found to be lower amongst people with Long Covid than without. In addition, prior to the cost of living crisis, 9% of adults were already reporting being worried about running out of food.

A full report on the survey findings is available on the Scottish Government’s website (this link will take you away from our website). The data can also be explored at a more local level using this app (this link will take you away from our website).

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