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Multimorbidity and Comorbidity of Chronic Diseases among the Senior Australians: Prevalence and Patterns

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  • M Mofizul Islam
  • Jose M Valderas
  • Laurann Yen
  • Paresh Dawda
  • Tanisha Jowsey
  • Ian S McRae

Abstract

Understanding patterns and identifying common clusters of chronic diseases may help policymakers, researchers, and clinicians to understand the needs of the care process better and potentially save both provider and patient time and cost. However, only limited research has been conducted in this area, and ambiguity remains as those limited previous studies used different approaches to identify common clusters and findings may vary with approaches. This study estimates the prevalence of common chronic diseases and examines co-occurrence of diseases using four approaches: (i) identification of the most occurring pairs and triplets of comorbid diseases; performing (ii) cluster analysis of diseases, (iii) principal component analysis, and (iv) latent class analysis. Data were collected using a questionnaire mailed to a cross-sectional sample of senior Australians, with 4574 responses. Eighty-two percent of respondents reported having at least one chronic disease and over 52% reported having at least two chronic diseases. Respondents suffering from any chronic diseases had an average of 2.4 comorbid diseases. Three defined groups of chronic diseases were identified: (i) asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, osteoporosis and depression; (ii) high blood pressure and diabetes; and (iii) cancer, with heart disease and stroke either making a separate group or “attaching” themselves to different groups in different analyses. The groups were largely consistent across the approaches. Stability and sensitivity analyses also supported the consistency of the groups. The consistency of the findings suggests there is co-occurrence of diseases beyond chance, and patterns of co-occurrence are important for clinicians, patients, policymakers and researchers. Further studies are needed to provide a strong evidence base to identify comorbid groups which would benefit from appropriate guidelines for the care and management of patients with particular disease clusters.

Suggested Citation

  • M Mofizul Islam & Jose M Valderas & Laurann Yen & Paresh Dawda & Tanisha Jowsey & Ian S McRae, 2014. "Multimorbidity and Comorbidity of Chronic Diseases among the Senior Australians: Prevalence and Patterns," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0083783
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083783
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Inge Kirchberger & Christa Meisinger & Margit Heier & Anja-Kerstin Zimmermann & Barbara Thorand & Christine S Autenrieth & Annette Peters & Karl-Heinz Ladwig & Angela Döring, 2012. "Patterns of Multimorbidity in the Aged Population. Results from the KORA-Age Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(1), pages 1-7, January.
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    1. Bomi Park & Hye Ah Lee & Hyesook Park, 2019. "Use of latent class analysis to identify multimorbidity patterns and associated factors in Korean adults aged 50 years and older," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Mohammad Akhtar Hussain & Judith M Katzenellenbogen & Frank M Sanfilippo & Kevin Murray & Sandra C Thompson, 2018. "Complexity in disease management: A linked data analysis of multimorbidity in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients hospitalised with atherothrombotic disease in Western Australia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Bruno Pereira Nunes & Fabio Alberto Camargo-Figuera & Marília Guttier & Paula Duarte Oliveira & Tiago N. Munhoz & Alicia Matijasevich & Andréa Dâmaso Bertoldi & Fernando César Wehrmeister & Marysabel , 2016. "Multimorbidity in adults from a southern Brazilian city: occurrence and patterns," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(9), pages 1013-1020, December.
    4. Jonathan Stokes & Maria Panagioti & Rahul Alam & Kath Checkland & Sudeh Cheraghi-Sohi & Peter Bower, 2015. "Effectiveness of Case Management for 'At Risk' Patients in Primary Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-42, July.

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