• Age and ageing · May 2016

    Multicenter Study

    Associations between multimorbidity, healthcare utilisation and health status: evidence from 16 European countries.

    • Raffaele Palladino, Tayu Lee John J Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College of London, London W6 8RP, UK Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Sin, Mark Ashworth, Maria Triassi, and Christopher Millett.
    • Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College of London, London W6 8RP, UK.
    • Age Ageing. 2016 May 1; 45 (3): 431-5.

    Backgroundwith ageing populations and increasing exposure to risk factors for chronic diseases, the prevalence of chronic disease multimorbidity is rising globally. There is little evidence on the determinants of multimorbidity and its impact on healthcare utilisation and health status in Europe.Methodswe used cross-sectional data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2011-12, which included nationally representative samples of persons aged 50 and older from 16 European nations. Negative binomial and logistic regression models were used to assess the association between number of chronic diseases and healthcare utilisation, self-perceived health, depression and reduction of functional capacity.Resultsoverall, 37.3% of participants reported multimorbidity; the lowest prevalence was in Switzerland (24.7%), the highest in Hungary (51.0%). The likelihood of having multimorbidity increased substantially with age. Number of chronic conditions was associated with greater healthcare utilisation in both primary (regression coefficient for medical doctor visits = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.27-0.30) and secondary setting (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for having any hospitalisation in the last year = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.42-1.55) in all countries analysed. Number of chronic diseases was associated with fair/poor health status (AOR 2.13, 95% CI = 2.03-2.24), being depressed (AOR 1.48, 95% CI = 1.42-1.54) and reduced functional capacity (AOR 2.12, 95% CI = 2.02-2.22).Conclusionmultimorbidity is associated with greater healthcare utilisation, worse self-reported health status, depression and reduced functional capacity in European countries. European health systems should prioritise improving the management of patients with multimorbidity to improve their health status and increase healthcare efficiency.© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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