One in four Romanians aged two and over suffers from at least one chronic illness or long-term health problems, according to a survey conducted by the National Statistics Institute (INS).

The population's health is precarious, and preventive care is at a minimum in many cases. Access to medical care was difficult in 2019, the year of the study, and it understandably deteriorated during the pandemic.

In rural areas, the share of people suffering from a chronic illness or a long-term health problem (24.7%) is slightly lower than that of people in urban areas (25.8%).

Similar to 2014 (the time of the previous survey), in 2019, the most common chronic diseases declared by people aged 15 and over were high blood pressure (found, on average, in 16 people out of 100), lumbar diseases (8 people out of 100), diabetes (5 out of 100 people), and cervical diseases (4 out of 100 people), according to the survey.

Children under 15 were affected by chronic diseases to a lesser extent in 2019 (3.3%), compared to 2014 (4.6%).

Just like in 2014, in 2019, the most common chronic diseases in children under 15 were allergies (excluding allergic asthma), chronic bronchitis, obstructive pulmonary disease, or emphysema, according to the study. Seven children out of 1,000 suffered from congenital osteoarticular abnormalities.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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