Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

After the Covid pandemic, more than one-third of Swiss report poor health

Blood pressure test at a doctor s office
In the over-65 category, the deterioration is the most marked: 46% said they feel unhealthy compared to 30% in 2020. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The pandemic may be behind us, but the Swiss are not in the best of health: according to a study for the insurance company CSS Group, 34% of people in Switzerland say they feel unhealthy or even ill, whereas three years ago the figure was 22%.

In the over-65 category, the deterioration is the most marked: 46% compared to 30% in 2020.

The study conducted by Sotomo, according to a CSS press release on Monday, shows that sick days for adults over 65 years of age increased from 2.6 in the pre-pandemic period and during the pandemic to 4.5 in 2023, i.e., more than double. The elderly are the most resistant to mental illness, but 39% of them do not seek professional help when they need it.

+ Should we be worried about a Covid-19 comeback?

The most frequently reported symptoms are fatigue and exhaustion (68% of cases): it cannot be excluded that the latter may be related to a legacy of Covid. Pain (48%), infectious diseases (41%) and stress (40%) follow on the list. Poor health affects the quality and quantity of sleep as well as physical activities and sociability.

Mental health is a major challenge for Switzerland in 2023: the number of people who considered themselves to be in good mental health was about three out of four two years ago, whereas in 2023 it is only two-thirds. Illnesses in this area are mainly suffered by young adults, although their moods are improving slightly. Nevertheless, only 38% of the population between 18 and 35 years of age turn to specialists in this field, and of those who do, about 50% do not find the support they were hoping for.

+ Covid pandemic cost Switzerland CHF8 billion

The combination of work and stress at home especially afflicts women between 41 and 50 years of age, who are the category with the lowest mood. Three out of four respondents believe that flexible work is psychologically beneficial and allows them to reconcile work and private life: this perception is especially widespread among women, who still do the larger share of care work. In general, in this age group, those who consider themselves to be in good mental health have fallen from 75% two years ago to 67% in 2023.

The survey conducted online by Sotomo was based on responses from 2,432 people collected between June 6 and 29 in the three main language regions. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points.

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Daily news

Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox.

Daily

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.


Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza
Antibiotic use on the rise again in Switzerland

More

Rise in use of antibiotics in Switzerland

This content was published on The consumption of antibiotics has risen in Switzerland since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compared to other European countries the Alpine country has one of the lowest levels of antibiotic usage.

Read more: Rise in use of antibiotics in Switzerland
Bolton: "Switzerland must join NATO, neutrality with no future"

More

John Bolton insists Switzerland should join NATO

This content was published on Switzerland should join NATO, as in the future it cannot rely on its long-standing tradition of neutrality for its defence, John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, declared in an interview on Sunday.

Read more: John Bolton insists Switzerland should join NATO
Russian opponents demonstrate in Geneva against the Putin regime

More

Russian Putin critics demonstrate in Switzerland

This content was published on A demonstration was held in Geneva on Sunday calling for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. Around 50 Russians took part in the gathering outside the UN building.

Read more: Russian Putin critics demonstrate in Switzerland

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR