According to an online survey conducted by GfK, half of people internationally say they have had a cough or cold in the last 12 months and over a quarter report suffering from insomnia or problems sleeping. These are findings found over 27,000 people in 22 countries which health conditions from a given list[1] they had experienced in the past 12 months.
Muscle pain, weight problems and migraines complete top 5 most common complaints
The top five most common conditions that people say they have experienced in the past 12 months are a cold (which was bundled with a cough, sore throat, upper respiratory infection, flu or influenza and was reported by 51 percent), problems sleeping (27 percent), muscle or joint pain due to injury or over exertion (25 percent), weight problems (21 percent) and migraines or severe headaches (21 percent).
Czech Republic has most cold sufferers; Sweden has most insomniacs; while Japan is the nation whose population enjoy the best night’s sleep. For almost all the conditions listed, women have higher percentages saying they have experienced these in the last 12 months than men.
More women than men experience problems sleeping
Both genders report a cold or cough as being the most common complaint (53 percent of women and 49 percent of men), but, for women, the next most common complaint is insomnia (32 percent), while, for men, it is a tie-breaker between muscle or joint pain due to over-exertion or injury, and insomnia (both standing at 24 percent).
There is also a difference in what items make it into the top five for each gender. For women, migraine or severe headache is their third most common complaint, but does not feature in men’s top five list (reported by 27 percent of women and 15 percent of men). And for men, heartburn or acid reflux is their fourth most common complaint, but does not feature in the women’s top five list – even though more women than men report having experienced it over the last year (19 percent of men and 21 percent of women).
The fieldwork was carried out over the summer 2015 and the data have been weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the online population age 15+ in each market. The countries included are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil,Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland,Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK and USA.
[1]The survey question asked: “Which of the following conditions have you experienced in the past 12 months? (Select all that apply): Skin conditions (such as psoriasis, eczema, acne) / Allergies / Depression, anxiety or other mental health issues / Chronic back or joint pain / Cold, cough, sore throat, upper respiratory infection, flu or influenza / Diabetes, pre-diabetes / Vomiting, diarrhea, intestinal cramps or other stomach ailments / Migraine or severe headaches / Heartburn or acid reflux / High cholesterol, high blood pressure or hypertension / Obesity or overweight / Insomnia, problems sleeping, sleep disorders / Muscle or joint soreness or pain due to over-exertion or injury / None of these”
Source: PR Newswire
