What’s in this Chapter?

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  • Life expectancy
  • Low birth weight babies
  • Infant mortality
  • Teenage parents
  • Communicable diseases
  • Access to general practitioners
  • Mental health and emotional wellbeing
  • Modifiable risk factors
  • Self-reported health status
  • Recreation and leisure
For full details, graphs etc, refer to the chapter in pdf format »

Key Results - Health

  • The majority of residents in our cities are satisfied with their life in general.
  • Life expectancy has increased nationally and in the 12 cities. Males still have a lower life expectancy than females.
  • Life expectancy for Maori is lower than that for non-Maori.
  • The rate of mortality for Maori and Pacific Islands infants is higher than the rate for the ‘Other’ ethnic category (which includes New Zealand European infants).
  • There has been an increase in the rate of teen pregnancy in the 12 cities since 2001, with a rate of 8.3 per 1,000 live births to mothers between the ages of 13 and 17 years in 2006. However, the rate is lower in our cities than across the rest of New Zealand (11.4 per 1,000 live births in 2006).
  • The overall number of cases of meningococcal disease in children in New Zealand has declined between 2004 and 2006.
  • Nationally there has been a small increase in the rate of notified cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people from 2004 to 2006. The cities’ rate is higher than that found in the rest of New Zealand.
  • Nationally, there has been a decline in the rate of GPs per 100,000 population from 2001 to 2005. Nearly all of the decline in total numbers of GPs has been outside of the 12 cities.
  • The rate of death by suicide is lower in the 12 cities than the rest of New Zealand, while rates of hospitalisation for attempted suicide are higher in the cities.
  • More residents living outside the 12 cities undertake physical activity on five or more days a week (61.0%) than those in the cities (56.0%).
  • Residents in the 12 cities are less likely to belong to a sports club than those in the rest of New Zealand and nationally.
  • The most prevalent type of diabetes is type 2 which affects approximately 220,000 people in New Zealand and accounts for 80.0 to 90.0% of all diabetes cases.
  • In New Zealand in 2003, 21.0% of adults over the age of 15 were obese. This was an increase from the 17.0% recorded in 1997.
  • A larger percentage of people in the rest of New Zealand smoke (21.3%) compared to those in the 12 cities (17.0%).
  • There has been a decline in the overall number of calls to the New Zealand gambling hotline between 2002 and 2005.
  • Sport or other physical activity is the most frequently mentioned free time activity by residents both nationally (39.0%) and in the 12 cities (32.0%).
  • A larger percentage of residents living outside the 12 cities (74.0%) rate their leisure time positively than those living in the 12 cities (72.0%).

Health

This chapter presents a selection of indicators focusing on the physical and mental health of people in the 12 cities.

Why this is Important

The overall physical and mental health of populations is associated with factors such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, employment, education and housing, as well as external factors such as living conditions and the environment. Living in a large urban area can impact on our health and sense of wellbeing through access to health services and recreational opportunities. These are key components to quality of life.

Key Points

Several indicators and measures show an overall improvement in recent years: higher life expectancy and declines in the rates of infant mortality and low birth weight babies. The majority of residents in the 12 cities identify as being happy, rate their overall health as good and undertake physical activity at least two to four times a week.

There are differences between the cities. For example, North Shore residents have relatively higher life expectancy than residents in other cities. The rate of meningococcal disease among children is declining across the country.

Across the 12 cities between 2001 and 2005, Rodney and Waitakere consistently had the lowest rate of general practitioners (GPs) per 100,000 of population.

Significant disparities in health and wellbeing do exist between different groups in the cities and nationally. For example, life expectancy declines markedly as the deprivation of the area of residence increases. There is a nine year difference in life expectancy for males at birth between the least deprived and the most deprived areas of New Zealand society. For women this difference is smaller, but is still more than six and a half years. Given the deprivation index levels in some of our cities, this is a concern.

While death rates for Maori from almost all major causes are continuing to decrease, Maori men and women experience an excess burden of mortality and morbidity throughout life, including higher rates of infant mortality and low birth weight babies. Maori are more likely to smoke than non-Maori and the rate of live births among females aged 13 to 17 years is considerably higher among Maori and Pacifi c Islands females than other groups.

The health of Pacific Islands people has improved over recent decades but they still experience a heavy burden of avoidable mortality and morbidity. For example, Pacific Islands people have higher rates of meningococcal disease.

Life Expectancy

  • Life expectancy has increased overall. Males still have a lower life expectancy than females.
  • Life expectancy for Maori is lower than that for non-Maori.

Low Birth Weight Babies

  • Between 2000 and 2003, the rate of low birth weight babies born in the 12 cities was lower than the rest of New Zealand.
  • Maori have a higher rate of low birth weight babies than other ethnicities.

Infant Mortality

  • The rate of mortality for Maori and Pacific Islands infants is considerably higher than the rate for the ‘Other’ ethnic category (which includes New Zealand European infants).

Teenage Parents

  • There has been a steady increase in the rate of teen pregnancy in the 12 cities since 2003.
  • The rate is lower in our cities than across the rest of New Zealand.

Communicable Diseases

  • The overall number of cases of meningococcal disease in New Zealand children has declined.
  • Nationally there has been a small increase in the rate of notified cases of tuberculosis. The rate is higher for the rest of New Zealand than for the 12 cities.

Access to General Practitioners

  • Nationally, there has been a decline in the rate of general practitioners per 100,000 population.
  • Auckland has the highest rate of general practitioners, while Rodney has the lowest.
  • Most residents in the 12 cities do not experience any barriers when accessing general practitioners.

Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing

  • The rate of death by suicide is lower in the 12 cities than the rest of New Zealand, while rates of hospitalisation for attempted suicide are higher in the 12 cities.
  • The majority of residents in our cities are satisfied with their life in general.
  • One in ten residents in our cities have experienced some form of stress in the previous 12 months either most or all of the time.

Self-Reported Health Status

  • Tauranga residents rate their health most positively.
  • Those living in Auckland and Waitakere rate their health the least positively.

Modifiable Risk Factors

  • More residents living outside the 12 cities undertake physical activity on five or more days a week than those in the 12 cities.
  • The most prevalent type of diabetes is Type Two, which affects approximately 220,000 people in New Zealand and accounts for the majority of all diabetes cases.
  • A fifth of adults over the age of 15 are obese and the level is increasing.

Recreation and Leisure

  • Sport or other physical activity is the most frequently mentioned free time activity across New Zealand.
  • A larger percentage of residents living outside the 12 cities rate their leisure time positively than those living in the 12 cities.
  • On the whole residents in our cities are not experiencing barriers to leisure activities.