ArticleBMC public health2021
The prevalence of multimorbidity in primary care: a comparison of two definitions of multimorbidity with two different lists of chronic conditions in Singapore.
Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Measuring the Quality of Care for Older Adults With Multimorbidity: Results of the MULTIqual Project.The Gerontologist · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of polypharmacy: a cross-sectional study in Singapore public healthcare institutions.Singapore medical journal · 2026Article
- Chronic disease comorbidity and its impact on healthcare utilization among older adults in China: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Projecting the 20-year healthcare resource burden of asthma and COPD multimorbidity: insights from Singapore for integrated chronic respiratory care in South-East Asia.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2026Article
- Prevalence, associated factors and temporal trends in multimorbidity in older adults in Singapore.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Screening for intrinsic capacity and frailty in older adults with multimorbidity in the primary care setting: application of the ICOPE tool and two frailty instruments.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- A Perspective on The Göktaş Definition of Family Medicine/General Practice: A Review of Singapore Quality.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Review
- Prevention and Management of Multimorbidity in Southeast Asia: A Narrative Review.Public health challenges · 2024Review
- How family physicians in Singapore recognise complexity during consultations: a qualitative study.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Cross-sectional study assessing health outcome priorities of older adults with multimorbidity at a primary care setting in Singapore.BMJ open · 2023Article
- How do older adults with multimorbidity navigate healthcare?: a qualitative study in Singapore.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Observational
- Psychosocial factors and caregiver burden among primary family caregivers of frail older adults with multimorbidity.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Article
- Sociodemographic and Health-Related Factors Influencing Drug Intake among the Elderly Population.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Patterns and predictors of oral antipsychotic prescribing in adult patients with schizophrenia.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2022Article
- Transitions between versions of the International Classification of Diseases and chronic disease prevalence estimates from administrative health data: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Multimorbidity and statin prescription for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases: A cross-sectional study in general practice in France.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- Describing a complex primary health care population to support future decision support initiatives.International journal of population data science · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe prevalence of multimorbidity varies widely due to the lack of consensus in defining multimorbidity. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of multimorbidity in a primary care setting using two definitions of multimorbidity with two different lists of chronic conditions.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 787,446 patients, aged 0 to 99 years, who consulted a family physician between July 2015 to June 2016. Multimorbidity was defined as 'two or more' (MM2+) or 'three or more' (MM3+) chronic conditions using the Fortin list and Chronic Disease Management Program (CDMP) list of chronic conditions. Crude and standardised prevalence rates were reported, and the corresponding age, sex or ethnic-stratified standardised prevalence rates were adjusted to the local population census.
resultsThe number of patients with multimorbidity increased with age. Age-sex-ethnicity standardised prevalence rates of multimorbidity using MM2+ and MM3+ for Fortin list (25.9, 17.2%) were higher than those for CDMP list (22.0%; 12.4%). Sex-stratified, age-ethnicity standardised prevalence rates for MM2+ and MM3+ were consistently higher in males compared to females for both lists. Chinese and Indians have the highest standardised prevalence rates among the four ethnicities using MM2+ and MM3+ respectively.
conclusionsMM3+ was better at identifying a smaller number of patients with multimorbidity requiring higher needs compared to MM2+. Using the Fortin list seemed more appropriate than the CDMP list because the chronic conditions in Fortin's list were more commonly seen in primary care. A consistent definition of multimorbidity will help researchers and clinicians to understand the epidemiology of multimorbidity better.
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