OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of chronic multimorbidity and its increase in primary care. DESIGN: Descriptive longitudinal study. METHOD: We selected patients suffering from chronic pulmonary disease, chronic cardiovascular disease, or diabetes from a national representative general practice research database (LINH). For each year in the period 2003-2009, we calculated the prevalence of these separate conditions. We subsequently assessed the prevalence of multimorbidity and its increase for 4 different age groups (0-14, 15-44, 45-64, ≥ 65 years). RESULTS: The percentage of all patients suffering from at least 1 of these chronic conditions increased from 12.6% in 2003 to 15.0% in 2009, an increase of almost 20%. The multimorbidity among these patients rose from 15.9% in 2003 to 18.3% in 2009. This increase in multimorbidity was found in all 3 chronic conditions under study and in all adult age groups. To what extent this increase was caused by improvements in morbidity registration could not be identified. CONCLUSION: There appears to be a considerable increase in recent years in the prevalence of chronic diseases; multimorbidity appears also to have increased. If this trend continues, in 2015 the multimorbidity among patients over 65 years of age with diabetes, chronic pulmonary and/or cardiovascular disease will be more than 30%.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of chronic multimorbidity and its increase in primary care. DESIGN: Descriptive longitudinal study. METHOD: We selected patients suffering from chronic pulmonary disease, chronic cardiovascular disease, or diabetes from a national representative general practice research database (LINH). For each year in the period 2003-2009, we calculated the prevalence of these separate conditions. We subsequently assessed the prevalence of multimorbidity and its increase for 4 different age groups (0-14, 15-44, 45-64, ≥ 65 years). RESULTS: The percentage of all patients suffering from at least 1 of these chronic conditions increased from 12.6% in 2003 to 15.0% in 2009, an increase of almost 20%. The multimorbidity among these patients rose from 15.9% in 2003 to 18.3% in 2009. This increase in multimorbidity was found in all 3 chronic conditions under study and in all adult age groups. To what extent this increase was caused by improvements in morbidity registration could not be identified. CONCLUSION: There appears to be a considerable increase in recent years in the prevalence of chronic diseases; multimorbidity appears also to have increased. If this trend continues, in 2015 the multimorbidity among patients over 65 years of age with diabetes, chronic pulmonary and/or cardiovascular disease will be more than 30%.
Authors: Brendon Colaco; Daniel Herold; Matthew Johnson; Daniel Roellinger; James M Naessens; Timothy I Morgenthaler Journal: J Clin Sleep Med Date: 2018-04-15 Impact factor: 4.062
Authors: Dyego L B Souza; Albert Oliveras-Fabregas; Eduard Minobes-Molina; Marianna de Camargo Cancela; Paola Galbany-Estragués; Javier Jerez-Roig Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2021-01-07 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Nathalie Eikelenboom; Ivo Smeele; Marjan Faber; Annelies Jacobs; Frank Verhulst; Joyca Lacroix; Michel Wensing; Jan van Lieshout Journal: BMC Fam Pract Date: 2015-11-11 Impact factor: 2.497