Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22412006›Full record

SynthesisAnnals of family medicine

A systematic review of prevalence studies on multimorbidity: toward a more uniform methodology.

Martin Fortin, Moira Stewart, Marie-Eve Poitras, José Almirall, Heather Maddocks

Open access · diamondAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Annals of family medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 600 papers, 16 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
600citing papers in PubMed, 16 pooled it
32.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

600 citing papers in PubMed, 16 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,160 citations in OpenAlex.

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  10. Prevalence of Multimorbidity in the Middle East: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
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540 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Martin FortinDepartment of Family Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Martin.Fortin@usherbrooke.ca
Moira Stewart
Marie-Eve Poitras
José Almirall
Heather Maddocks
Centre de Santé et de Services Sociaux de Chicoutimi · CAUniversité de Sherbrooke · CAWestern University · CA

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe sought to identify and compare studies reporting the prevalence of multimorbidity and to suggest methodologic aspects to be considered in the conduct of such studies.

methodsWe searched the literature for English- and French-language articles published between 1980 and September 2010 that described the prevalence of multimorbidity in the general population, in primary care, or both. We assessed quality of included studies with a modified version of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist. Results of individual prevalence studies were adjusted so that they could be compared graphically.

resultsThe final sample included 21 articles: 8 described studies conducted in primary care, 12 in the general population, and 1 in both. All articles were of good quality. The largest differences in prevalence of multimorbidity were observed at age 75 in both primary care (with prevalence ranging from 3.5% to 98.5% across studies) and the general population (with prevalence ranging from 13.1% to 71.8% across studies). Apart from differences in geographic settings, we identified differences in recruitment method and sample size (primary care: 980-60,857 patients; general population: 1,099-316,928 individuals), data collection, and the operational definition of multimorbidity used, including the number of diagnoses considered (primary care: 5 to all; general population: 7 to all). This last aspect seemed to be the most important factor in estimating prevalence.

conclusionsMarked variation exists among studies of the prevalence of multimorbidity with respect to both methodology and findings. When undertaking such studies, investigators should carefully consider the specific diagnoses included and their number, as well as the operational definition of multimorbidity.

Indexed as

ComorbidityPrimary Health CareCross-Sectional StudiesHumans

Identifiers

PMID22412006
PMCPMC3315131
OpenAlexW2102195380

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.