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06-Nov-2019
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Arch Hellen Med, 37(6), November-December 2019, 754-762 REVIEW An epidemiological study of multimorbidity in Greece E.I. Evangelopoulou,1 G.S. Alimani,2 P. Apotsos,2 G. Simou,1 K. Kiritsi,1 A.G. Mathioudakis,2,3 G.A. Mathiodouakis2 |
ΟBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of multimorbidity in Greece and explore the demographic and social characteristics of patients presenting multimorbidity.
METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted of 1,168 randomly selected people aged >39 years in Greece. The prevalence of multimorbidity was estimated and its association with demographic and social characteristics were explored. The Charslon comorbidity index was used to estimate the projected survival of the participants at ten years.
RESULTS In the sample of 1,168 participants, 68.75% suffered from at least one disease, while 28.68% suffered from more than two diseases. The presence of more diseases, a higher Charlson comorbidity index and lower 10-year survival were correlated with greater age, smoking, excess alcohol consumption, obesity, lack of exercise and psychological burden. Significant differences were observed between males and females; specifically, men start suffering from various diseases earlier in life, but accumulate additional diseases at a slower rate (0.6 new diseases per decade), while in women, diseases develop later in life, but at a faster rate (1.37 new diseases per decade of life).
CONCLUSIONS Multimorbidity is associated with demographic and psychosocial characteristics and it poses a significant burden in the older age group.
Key words: Charlson comorbidity index, Comorbidity, Multimorbidity, Quality of life questionnaire.
