American journal of epidemiology
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Multimorbidity is common and is associated with poor mental health and high mortality. Nevertheless, no studies have evaluated whether mental health may affect the survival of people with multimorbidity. We investigated the association between perceived stress and mortality in people with multimorbidity by following a population-based cohort of 118,410 participants from the Danish National Health Survey 2010 for up to 4 years. ⋯ Mortality hazard ratios (highest stress quintile vs. lowest) were 1.51 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25, 1.84) among persons without multimorbidity, 1.39 (95% CI: 1.18, 1.64) among those with 2 or 3 conditions, and 1.43 (95% CI: 1.18, 1.73) among those with 4 or more conditions, when adjusted for disease severities, lifestyle, and socioeconomic status. The numbers of excess deaths associated with high stress were 69 among persons without multimorbidity, 128 among those with 2 or 3 conditions, and 255 among those with 4 or more conditions. Our findings suggested that perceived stress contributes significantly to higher mortality rates in a dose-response pattern, and more stress-associated deaths occurred in people with multimorbidity.