Hygiena 2025, 70(3):97-105 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1889

Thirty years of population health monitoring in the Environmental Health Monitoring System

Michala Lustigová^{1, 2}, Kristýna Žejglicová¹, Jana Kratěnová¹, Naděžda Čapková¹

¹ Státní zdravotní ústav, Centrum zdraví a životního prostředí, Praha, Česká republika

² Univerzita Karlova, Přírodovědecká fakulta, Praha, Česká republika

The article summarizes thirty years of activity by the National Institute of Public Health in the area of systematic monitoring of the health status of the Czech population. It presents the methodology and selected results of various surveys conducted within the Population Health Monitoring System in relation to the environment. These surveys combined health questionnaires with health examinations of both adult and child respondents. Among the adult population, the results indicate a persistently high prevalence of chronic diseases, an unhealthy lifestyle in a large portion of individuals, and a low level of effective risk factor control. For example, metabolic syndrome was found in 38% of men and 28% of women of working age, and 67% of the population was overweight (2019). In children, the results primarily point to an increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases and obesity during the period under review; the prevalence of allergic diseases in children rose from 17% to 32% between 1996 and 2016, while 7.5% of children were overweight and 10.3% were obese in 2016. The studies also identified the significant influence of socioeconomic factors on health. Lastly, the article highlights the declining public participation in the surveys, along with organizational and legislative obstacles to research implementation. The authors emphasize the necessity of continuing and developing these studies as a key tool for creating effective public health policies and preventing chronic diseases.

Keywords: population health, questionnaire survey, physical examination, health status monitoring

Received: July 2025; Accepted: October 2, 2025; Published: October 15, 2025  Show citation