06-10-2023 - In 2022, 69.5% of the population consulted a general practitioner, and over half were overweight or obese

In 2022

69.5% of the population consulted a general practitioner, and over half were overweight or obese

The Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM) releases today a set of health indicators for the resident population aged 16 or older in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM). These indicators are derived from the triennial module on health conducted as part of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in 2022. The data presented in this release reflect the 12 months preceding the interview.

In 2022, 69.5% of the population aged 16 or older in the Autonomous Region of Madeira sought medical consultation with a general practitioner

In 2022, based on the results of the triennial module on health from the SILC, 69.5% of the population aged 16 or older in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM) reported consulting a general practitioner in the 12 months prior to the interview. Among those who consulted a general practitioner, 47.1% did so once or twice, while 22.4% had three or more consultations. This percentage was 6.0 percentage points lower than the corresponding estimate for Portugal as a whole (75.5%), where 46.9% of the population had one or two consultations, and 28.6% had three or more consultations.

Regarding dental or orthodontic consultations, 55.5% of the population aged 16 or older in Madeira reported having such consultations in the 12 months prior to the interview. Of those, 38.7% had one or two consultations, while 16.8% had three or more consultations. Nationally, 57.4% of the population aged 16 or older consulted a dentist or orthodontist, with 34.4% having 1 or 2 consultations, and 23.0% having 3 or more consultations.

Furthermore, 47.7% of the population aged 16 or older in Madeira reported having consultations with doctors from other specialties (excluding dentists, orthodontists, and general practitioners) in the 12 months prior to the interview. Among them, 30.7% had one or two consultations, while 17.0% had three or more consultations. In the country as a whole, 52.5% of the population had consultations with other specialists, with 31.1% having one or two consultations, and 21.4% having three or more consultations.

Over half of the resident population aged 18 or older is overweight or obese

According to the same survey, 57.4% of the population aged 18 or older were classified as having excess weight or obesity. Among them, 37.9% were classified as overweight and 19.5% as obese. On the other hand, 1.6% of the adult population were classified as underweight. In comparison, at the national level, 53.2% of the adult population had excess weight or obesity, with 37.3% being overweight and 15.9% being obese.