Press Release
Launch of the next European health survey
The Luxembourg Health Directorate, in collaboration with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), is launching the3rd national survey on the health of residents, the EHIS (European Health Interview Survey).
Initiated by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, this survey is compulsory for all European Union member states. It is used to assess the state of health of the population in order to help improve health policies and services, and also to compare the results of the survey across different European countries. Previous surveys took place in 2014 and 2019.
This year, it will start on 15 January and will run throughout 2025. In Luxembourg, around 18,000 people aged 15 and over, living in private households, will be randomly selected from the National Register of Physical Persons. The people selected will be invited by official letter to take part in the survey. They will be able to complete an online questionnaire or request a paper version. Available in four languages (French, German, English and Portuguese), the questionnaire asks about health status, healthcare use, health determinants and socio-economic characteristics, while guaranteeing respondents’ anonymity.
The Ministry of Health and Social Security is inviting selected individuals to take part in the survey in large numbers. Although participation is not compulsory, it is essential to guarantee reliable data and an accurate representation of the state of health of Luxembourg residents. The greater the number of participants, the more the data collected will reflect the true state of health of the population in Luxembourg. The data collected will help the healthcare system to evolve through a better understanding of needs, which will facilitate the development of appropriate strategies and measures at national and European level.
Some key figures from the 2019 Survey
- In 2019, the state of health of the population of Luxembourg was seen as positive, with more than 74% of participants rating their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
- The most frequently reported illnesses and conditions were low back problems, other chronic back problems and allergies. 18.3% were occasional or daily smokers, while 43.1% reported drinking alcohol at least once a week, a higher proportion than the EU average (28.8%).
- Among adults aged 18 and over, 16.5% were obese and 31.9% were overweight. Almost half (47.9%) of adults did not eat fruit and/or vegetables on a daily basis.
➔ Access the questionnaire here >> www.ehis.lu
About the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH)
The Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) is a public biomedical research organisation focused on precision health and invested in becoming a leading reference in Europe for the translation of scientific excellence into meaningful benefits for patients.
The LIH places the patient at the heart of all its activities, driven by a collective obligation towards society to use knowledge and technology arising from research on patient derived data to have a direct impact on people’s health. Its dedicated teams of multidisciplinary researchers strive for excellence, generating relevant knowledge linked to immune related diseases and cancer.
The institute embraces collaborations, disruptive technology and process innovation as unique opportunities to improve the application of diagnostics and therapeutics with the long-term goal of preventing disease.