From: Incongruous consultation behaviour: results from a UK-wide population survey
Level of symptom seriousness * | Symptom | n | Low impact consultations †| High impact non-consultations ††| ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | n | % | n | % |
1 | Feeling tired/run down | 887 | 12 | 1.4 | 201 | 22.7 |
 | Difficulty sleeping | 607 | 12 | 2.0 | 155 | 25.5 |
 | Sore throat | 411 | 17 | 4.1 | 39 | 9.5 |
 | Cold or flu symptoms | 372 | 9 | 2.4 | 52 | 14.0 |
 | Diarrhoea | 266 | 9 | 3.4 | 37 | 13.9 |
 | Loss of appetite | 117 | 6 | 5.1 | 16 | 13.7 |
2 | Back pain | 653 | 15 | 2.3 | 144 | 22.1 |
 | Nervousness/anxiety | 405 | 10 | 2.5 | 88 | 21.7 |
 | Cough | 372 | 12 | 3.2 | 48 | 12.9 |
 | Nausea/feeling sick | 259 | 6 | 2.3 | 36 | 13.9 |
 | Constipation | 203 | 4 | 2.0 | 11 | 5.4 |
 | Vomiting | 95 | 2 | 2.1 | 24 | 25.3 |
3 | Headaches | 845 | 5 | 0.6 | 143 | 16.9 |
 | Joint pain | 678 | 30 | 4.4 | 141 | 20.8 |
 | Indigestion/heartburn | 392 | 13 | 3.3 | 41 | 10.5 |
 | Feeling depressed | 353 | 12 | 3.4 | 100 | 28.3 |
 | Stomach/abdominal pain | 337 | 20 | 5.9 | 66 | 19.6 |
 | Dizziness | 194 | 9 | 4.6 | 21 | 10.8 |
 | Wheezy chest | 158 | 14 | 8.9 | 16 | 10.1 |
 | Fainting | 14 | 2 | 14.3 | 4 | 28.6 |
4 | Shortness of breath | 176 | 15 | 8.5 | 23 | 13.1 |
 | Blood in stool | 52 | 9 | 17.3 | 1 | 1.9 |
 | Unintentional weight loss | 37 | 3 | 8.1 | 5 | 13.5 |
5 | Chest pain | 108 | 8 | 7.4 | 12 | 11.1 |
 | Coughing up blood | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25.0 |
All symptoms combined | 7995 | 254 | 3.2 | 1384 | 17.3 |