Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice
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Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can · Aug 2015
Prevalence and patterns of chronic disease multimorbidity and associated determinants in Canada.
Multimorbidity is increasingly recognized as a key issue in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. We examined the prevalence and correlates of chronic disease multimorbidity in the general adult Canadian population in relation to age and other key determinants. ⋯ As the proportion of Canadians living with multiple chronic diseases increases, we need to assess chronic disease from a holistic perspective that captures multimorbidity and upstream factors, to facilitate broader and more context-appropriate associations with healthy living, quality of life, health care costs and mortality. Special consideration should be given to the role that social deprivation plays in the development of multimorbidity. Canadians living in the lowest socioeconomic group are not only more likely to develop multimorbidity, but the onset of multimorbidity is also likely to be significantly earlier.