Young females visited their GP twice as often as young males

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On average, we consulted a GP 2.6 times in 2015. Women had more visits than men, particularly young adults in the ages between 16 and 49 years.

A GP (general practitioner) is our first point of contact in the event of illness, injury or health problems. Emergency primary health care is used when our GP is not available and urgent medical care is needed. In 2015, seven out of ten people visited their doctor at least once, and nearly two out of ten visited an emergency care unit.

Young and middle-aged women visit their GP more than men

On average, women see their doctor more often than men do, with about three visits per year, which is almost one more visit than men. The disparity is greatest for the age groups 16 to 49, where women have almost twice as many GP visits as men. Much of this disparity can be explained by women’s increased GP visits due to prenatal care, contraception and follow-up of their reproductive health.

Perhaps not surprisingly, we see our GP more often when we grow older. The highest uptake of GP services is found in the age group 80-89 years, with more than 5 visits, versus one among children between 6 and 15 years. Those who are 90 years or more also have fewer visits. There may be several reasons for this. One may be that the healthiest among the 90 year-olds live in private households, and thus continue to use their GP, while the less healthy ones live in institutions, and receive health services there and have less need for GP consultations.

 

Source: SSB / Norway Today