The
HSE National Service Plan 2019
states that ‘the three most common chronic diseases are cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease. These diseases give rise to three quarters of deaths in Ireland. It is estimated that over 1.07m people over the age of 18 years currently have one or more chronic diseases (based on analysis of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), wave1, 2017 and Quarterly National Household Survey, special module on health, 2010). However, chronic disease increases with age, the highest prevalence observed in the population aged 50 years and over. The number of people in this age cohort, living with one or more chronic disease, is estimated to increase by 40% from 2016 levels, to 1.09m in 2030 (based on analysis of TILDA data, 2018). Multi-morbidity is common in older people with 45.3% of adults aged 65 years and over affected by arthritis, 44.4% by high blood pressure, 11.8% by diabetes and 3.7% by stroke (TILDA wave 3, 2014-2015)’.