To say most people....

[TinaTeaspoons]

Have a long term health condition by the time they are 40?
DH has UC and RA both diagnosed within 2 years of each other in his thirties. He turned 38 yesterday and gone on a downward spiral despite both conditions being managed well. I think it was because at his party yesterday, he couldn't drink (due to his meds) or dance with the rest of us. Trying to make him feel better and see that many people have long term health concerns which may not be visible.

I don't think so, not at 40. My father's health conditions only kicked in from early/mid 60s, my mother at 70 doesn't really have any except needing hearing aids & glasses.

I think from about 40 people increasingly don't recover as well from minor injuries - you see more strapped knees and elbows at the tennis club, more grumbles of a dodgy back. Friends and i have discussed finding that our digestion isn't what it was - more and more of us are feeling better with a bit less dairy, alcohol, sugar etc.

I wouldn't call these health conditions though.

No, I don't think so at all. Unless you are counting things like asthma, myopia, eczema, allergies, polycystic ovaries...I suppose if you scrape hard enough everyone has something.

Dh has an autoimmune condition which he developed in his 30s, he has to take blood thinners for life now. Weirdly his colleague also developed the same autoimmune condition in his 30s too and is also on blood thinners for life.

I'm in my 30s and am bring investigated for POTS and RA at them moment. I'm pretty sure that pregnancy was what brought on the POTS. Both dh and I don't drink or smoke, are both healthy weights and exercise regularly(me not so much at the moment as my heartrate is all over the place).

Depends what you mean by ‘long-term health condition’. Are you counting things like allergies, acid reflux, eczema, acne etc? Or do you mean health conditions like your DH’s that are debilitating and limiting?

I don’t think most people have a condition as serious as RA by the age of 40 at all. It’s unusual to have that at 40.

I don't even know what UC and RA are? Im in my 40s and I would say no it's normal for most people to develop conditions by that age, though many people of will be living with long term/life long conditions but I don't think that's what you mean.

I have many. And I’m 47

I am 30 and I have had arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis) since I was 16. Two girls I went to school with have MS, my brother in law has colitis and arthritis and on the other side my other brother in law also has colitis, and they are both early 40’s. I also have a friend with auto immune kidney failure. I have other friends with rather bad scoliosis and another friend with MS. A cousin with PCOS, another friend with endometriosis…. I’ll stop now as the list just keeps growing 😂

Each one of those people (including myself) work and quietly manage/cope with their conditions, so outsiders would never know really!

So yes, sadly from my perspective it is common for people to have issues, probably 15-20% are dealing with something, and probably many more that you don’t know about.

I am not so sure that wealth = health, I think you need to factor things like smoking in. Smoking damages both wealth and health, so smokers will really be skewing those statistics

Oh and I will say I understand your husbands downward spiral, up until last year I was what I would consider very healthy, I had no complaints at all. Then one day I woke up and my ankles/feet and hips were killing me and I've been in pain since. Then during the recent hot weather I started with nausea, palpitations, Dizziness, brainfog etc and it's really upsetting tbh feeling like at 37 I'm slowly disintegrating especially when I compare to this time last year where I would spend all day hiking with no problems at all, full of energy etc It's shit and feels unfair when I feel like I've done everything 'right' and I'm still left feeling like my body is a mess.

Most of the I know so have chronic issues and they are all 40 or under. I have crohns myself, one has endo, one has RA, one has UC so quite a few issues here!

UC is ulcerative colitis and RA is rheumatoid arthritis for the PP above

I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid not long after I turned 40.

@FuppingEll What disease do you have?

I'm 44 & I'm the only one in my family/social circle in the 40-50 age group to not be on some form of daily medication or going through tests for some pain/ailment.

However, I've had a bit of a dodgy knee for a few years (painful if I sit the same way for too long, sort of gives out but only for an instant then it's fine again) & over the last couple of weeks I've noticed a short sharp pain in it at least once a day but often more that I can't relate to a particular movement or action so may need to get that looked at.

@FuppingEll Sorry just seen your previous post.

Don't make the mistake of using stats to explain individuals or vice versa. I'm using class as a synonym for socioeconomic status. Higher levels are healthier. Also smoke less, possibly less stressed etc.
In some suburbs of Glasgow life expectancy is 56. In Detling in kent its 104. Average UK is 82.7 I think 84 f and 82 m

No not usual in the people I know , however I'm 58 and spoke to a new Dr who was incredulous I was not on any prescriptions or had medical conditions . I'm guessing from that a lot of people are .

67 no conditions and no medication

No I'd say mid to late 50s rather than 40 OP.

Nope not at 40

OP, just allow him to feel what he feels. No matter how many other people do or do not have their lives restricted and live in pain, your DH is facing what he has to.

Just listen and support him.

It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s fact. People who live in areas of high deprivation statistically have poorer health and die younger than in wealthier areas. There are a multitude of factors and reasons, but in a few words, yes, wealth does generally equal health.

Well it depends how you're defining it. I have had asthma all my life, and have been on thyroid medication since my late 30s. But I don't define either as a "long term health condition".

So am I. Illness doesn't do class it does people.

In our extended group of friends there is only one and she has had the condition since she was a teenager and is 58 now. Everyone else is perfectly healthy and active.
Only one person in our team of about 20 ( aged39 to 64) has a condition as well.
Same in my family. My brother has type 1 diabetes and has since he was about 11. Everyone else is ok. (49-67)

I was diagnosed with asthma at age 48, the doctor said I'd probably had it all my life.