‘Tidal wave’ of over-50s have two or more health problems

NEARLY half of the over-50s are living with two or more serious health problems – an increase of more than 10 per cent in a decade.

Britain is facing a ‘tidal wave’ of illhealth, with around 15million patients having several long-term health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and depression, a report reveals.

These include 8.4million of the 19.5million over-50s in the UK – or 43 per cent.

The warning comes just weeks after Cambridge University researchers found a quarter of Britons were living with several health complaints.

Experts warn the problem is affecting younger generations, with doctors seeing rising cases of multiple illnesses among twenty-somethings.

While many of the illnesses are fuelled by obesity and sedentary lifestyles, the researchers suggested factors such as pollution could also be to blame.

Professor Stephen MacMahon, who led the Academy of Medical Sciences report, said these patients often had worse care and died prematurely. He said: ‘We are facing a tidal wave of patients with multiple long-term conditions. Our report demonstrates how little we know about how to manage this. We face a situation where those in greatest need are least likely to receive appropriate care.’

He said that the NHS was geared towards specialities, rather than treating patients’ conditions as a whole, adding: ‘For too long we’ve focused almost exclusively on the management of single diseases, such as cancer and HIV.

The soaring prevalence of type 2 diabetes is one of the leading causes among those under 5 of having three other conditions, rising to seven for over- 5s.

Dr Lynne Corner, of the Newcastle University Institute for Ageing and Faculty of Medical Sciences, said being a patient could be a ‘full-time job’, with some having several appointments with different teams in different clinics.