Travellers report the types of chronic illness listed in table 5.1 more often. "The difference is substantial in some cases: 13–14 percentage points for urinary/bladder problems and back conditions; 8 percentage points for reported chronic bronchitis and 6 percentage points for asthma. Further analysis shows that, overall, 38 per cent of respondents reported at least one chronic illness in the SLÁN survey, with a higher rate for women than men (40 per cent compared to 35 per cent). By contrast, 59 per cent of Travellers reported at least one chronic illness, with a gender pattern similar to that of the general population – 61 per cent of women compared to 56 per cent of men (Morgan et al., 2008; authors’ analysis of AITHS data)”. [1]

“When we compare Travellers and non-Travellers in the 35–54 age groups, we see that Travellers are about three times as likely to have poor health or some type of difficulty or disability. In particular, there was a sharper rise with age in poor health among Travellers, especially between the ages of 35 and 64 years”. [1]

[1] D. Watson, O.Kenny & F. McGinnity. 2017 A Social Portrait of Travellers in Ireland, The Economic and Social Research Institute