Multimorbidity: conceptual basis, epidemiological models and measurement challenges
Abstract
The growing number of patients with complex clinical profiles related to chronic diseases has contributed to the increasingly widespread use of the term ‘multimorbidity’. A suitable measurement of this condition is essential to epidemiological studies considering that it represents a challenge for the clinical management of patients as well as for health systems and epidemiological investigations. In this context, the present essay reviews the conceptual proposals behind the measurement of multimorbidity including the epidemiological and methodological challenges it involves. We discuss classical definitions of comorbidity, how they differ from the concept of multimorbidity, and their roles in epidemiological studies. The various conceptual models that contribute to the operational definitions and strategies to measure this variable are also presented. The discussion enabled us to identify a significant gap between the modern conceptual development of multimorbidity and the operational definitions. This gap exists despite the theoretical developments that have occurred in the classical concept of comorbidity to arrive to the modern and multidimensional conception of multimorbidty. Measurement strategies, however, have not kept pace with this advance. Therefore, new methodological proposals need to be developed in order to obtain information regarding the actual impact on individuals’ health and its implications for public health.
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