Morbidity and comorbidity among Great Lakes American Indians: predictors of functional ability.

This article explores patterns of morbidity and comorbidity and their ability to predict functional disability among American Indian elders, using data from a sample of urban, rural off-reservation, and reservation Great Lakes American Indians age 55 and older. Higher rates are reported of a number of chronic illnesses than found in overall samples of U.S. elders. Results of multiple regression analyses predicting Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) and Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) show age to be a consistent predictor of functional disabilities: The CMI (Index of Comorbidity) was found to be a more useful predictor of functional disability than was the simple summation of the number of chronic illnesses.