ArticleBMC family practice2014
A practice-based analysis of combinations of diseases in patients aged 65 or older in primary care.
Article in BMC family practice, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- The prevalence, impact and management of musculoskeletal disorders in older people living in care homes: a systematic review.Rheumatology international · 2016Pooled it
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- Associations of Pain Characteristics With Physical Capacity Trajectories Among Older Adults in the United States.The Clinical journal of pain · 2025Article
- Secondary fracture prevention in primary care: a narrative review.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2024Review
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- The impact of multimorbidity patterns on health-related quality of life in the general population: results of the Belgian Health Interview Survey.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Exploring the influencing factors of quality of life among the empty nesters in Shanxi, China: a structural equation model.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2021Article
- Gait Speed as a Predictor for Diabetes Incidence in People with or at Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Longitudinal Analysis from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Multimorbidity in the elderly in China based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Multimorbidity among Two Million Adults in China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Identifying subgroups of persons with multimorbidity based on their needs for care and support.BMC family practice · 2019Article
- Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity among the elderly in China: a cross-sectional study using national survey data.BMJ open · 2019Article
- Article
- The impact of an individualized risk-adjusted approach on hypertension treatment in primary care.Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) · 2017Article
- Glaucoma domiciliary service by optometrist.International journal of ophthalmology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMost evidence on chronic diseases has been collected for single diseases whereas in reality, patients often suffer from more than one condition. There is a growing need for evidence-based answers to multimorbidity, especially in primary care settings where family doctors (FD's) provide comprehensive care for a high variety of chronic conditions. This study aimed to define which disease and problem combinations would be most relevant and useful for the development of guidelines to manage multimorbidity in primary care.
methodsA practice-based cross sectional analysis of clinicians' chart reviews in 543 patients aged over 65 registered within two family practices in Ghent, Belgium. Main outcome measures were prevalence of disease and problem combinations and association strengths.
resultsThe prevalence of multimorbidity (Cumulative Illness Rating Scale >1) in the study sample is 82.6%. The most prevalent combination is hypertension-osteoarthritis (132/543). Moderate to strong associations (Yules Q > 0.50) are reported for 14 combinations but the corresponding prevalences are mostly below 5%. More than half of these associations show a contribution of a psychiatric problem or a social problem.
conclusionsThis study confirms the high prevalence of multimorbidity in patients aged over 65 in primary care. Hypertension-osteoarthritis is defined as a frequent combination however 94% of these patients have more than two disorders. The low prevalence of specific combinations, the high prevalence of psychiatric and social problems and the general complexity of multimorbidity will hamper the usefulness of randomized trials or guidelines at practice level. There is a need to explore new paradigms for addressing multimorbidity.
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Registered trials
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.