Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34588816›Full record

ArticleClinical epidemiology2021

Tipping Points - Do the Prognostic Values of Multimorbidity and Functional Status Vary with Age?

Lau Caspar Thygesen, Kaare Christensen, Mikael Rørth, Henrik Toft Sørensen, Jan P Vandenbroucke, Rudi G J Westendorp

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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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

6 authors.

Lau Caspar ThygesenNational Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-8375-5211
Kaare ChristensenThe Danish Aging Research Center, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-5429-5292
Mikael RørthDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Henrik Toft SørensenDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-4299-7040
Jan P VandenbrouckeDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Rudi G J WestendorpDepartment of Public Health and Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-0672-8372

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aging of the population is a pressing challenge for healthcare systems and knowledge of a patient's prognosis is a key to shaping effective interventions. As the prevalence of multimorbidity strongly increases with age, the prognostic value of multiple disease diagnoses for survival among older people may diminish, whereas other measures of health, such as functional status (defined as a measure of an individual's ability to perform activities of daily living), may become more important. In this commentary, the impact of age on the prognostic value of multimorbidity is discussed, with the aim of identifying relevant alternative risk indicators for different age groups. The key question is to determine at what age the prognostic value of multimorbidity for meaningful clinical outcomes decreases and is overridden by the prognostic value of functional status. This tipping point likely depends on age, calendar time, and birth cohort. The public health and clinical implications of these tipping points are important. Among younger and middle-aged persons, interventions could be directed towards prevention and treatment of specific diseases, while among older persons efforts should focus more on improving functional levels that include physical, emotional, and social dimensions.

Indexed as

agedchronic diseasehealth servicesmultimorbiditypublic health

Identifiers

PMID34588816
PMCPMC8473562

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.