On this page

1. Main trends in the health conditions of young people

2. Main concepts

    

Main trends in the health conditions of young people

The most important trends in youth health and well-being in Croatia are the rise in chronic non-communicable diseases/disorders and injuries due to behaviours, habits, and lifestyles. This also indicates underlying social causes. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the youth demographic regarding the incidence of: 

• excessive alcohol, tobacco, and psychoactive drug consumption
• risky sexual behaviour
• sexually transmitted diseases
• poor nutritional habits and insufficient physical activity
• eating disorders 
• injuries from traffic accidents
• psycho-social problems resulting in suicides
• mental disorders
• injuries and deaths caused by easily accessible firearms

Infectious diseases are not a prevalent concern among the youth due to the many years of systematic vaccination programmes. 

The Croatian Public Health Institute releases the Croatian Health Statistics Yearbook annually. According to the latest issue from 2022, among the diseases reported in primary healthcare clinics, acute upper respiratory infections are predominant. There were about 253,703 cases in the 7-19 age group. 

According to the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey conducted in 2018 in Croatia, 33% of 15-year-old girls rated their health as excellent, compared to 48% of boys. Additional statistics for the 15-year-old age group were as follows: 

• 46% of girls and 23% of boys reported multiple health complaints more than once a week
• 36% of girls and 50% of boys reported at least one medically attended injury in the last 12 months
• 13% of girls and 23% of boys were categorised as overweight or obese
• 29% of girls and 19% of boys thought they were too fat
• 38% of girls and 50% of boys ate breakfast every weekday
• 30% of girls and 25% of boys ate fruit daily
• 17% of girls and 18% of boys consumed soft drinks daily

According to the HBSC 2021/2022 survey, which focused on adolescent mental health and well-being in Europe, Central Asia, and Canada, the data for 15-year-olds in Croatia indicates that mental well-being was higher among boys than girls. Furthermore, 15-year-old girls reported higher levels of loneliness (23%) than boys (10%). This gender difference is consistent across all age groups (11, 13, and 15 years old). According to the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) from 2019, involving 2 772 Croatian participants with a median age of 15.7 years, 29% of young people in Croatia stated that they consumed tobacco in the past month, and 54% tried tobacco at least once in their life. It is noteworthy that since 1995, when Croatia first participated in the ESPAD study, the difference in the number of young girls and boys smoking has drastically reduced, aligning with a trend observed in other countries. According to information on smoking in the past month, 29% of young boys and 30% of young girls smoked, ranking Croatia among the countries with the highest prevalence of smokers in that age group. 

Based on data regarding the use of new psychoactive substances, 5.1% of young people in Croatia used these substances in the last 12 months. This places Croatia among the countries with the highest prevalence, along with the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. It is also important to note that Croatia has the second-highest prevalence of inhalant use, standing at 15%. The variations among the participating countries in the study were quite pronounced.

Among young people in Croatia:

• 87% consider alcohol fairly or very easily available 
• 69% consider cigarettes fairly or very easily available
• 40% consider cannabis, and 16% consider ecstasy easily available
• 42% tried alcohol before the age of 13 
• 22% tried cigarettes before the age of 13 
• around 58% have consumed alcohol in the past month
• 90% consumed alcohol at least once in their life

In summary, the trends from 1995 to 2019 indicate a slight decline in substance use among young people in Croatia. 

Main concepts

Youth health and well-being is a concept focused not only on preserving and enhancing physical health. It involves creating a broader social context that influences the overall well-being and health of young individuals. This includes preventing illness and promoting health to help young people reach their full health potential.

Faced with a significant burden of chronic non-communicable diseases and premature deaths, some Western countries started intensive programmes for prevention and suppression. However, it was demonstrated that the traditional approach of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention did not achieve the desired effect at the population level. This led to the concept of health promotion, aiming not only to prevent disease but also to enhance the overall health of the entire population. It shifts the focus from specific high-risk groups to encompass the entire population and its environment. Intervention measures are linked to health determinants, emphasising that participants come from almost all segments of society. 

Croatia has completed its ’demographic transition‘ and falls into the category of an ‘ageing population’, characterised by a high percentage of individuals aged 65 and over. Trends indicate a poor condition of ‘demographic health’, posing a significant challenge to the overall sustainable development of society. Additionally, it poses a challenge for the health system, which must address the increasing health needs of the growing elderly population.