Health-related quality of life of people with multimorbidity at a community-based, interprofessional student-assisted clinic: Implications for assessment and intervention.
Objective This study examined the relationship between the number of comorbidities and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and between select physical conditions and HRQoL. Differences in HRQoL in comparison to a normative sample were also examined. Method A cross-sectional study among people with multimorbidity ( n = 401) attending a community-based, interdisciplinary health clinic was conducted. HRQoL was measured using the eight dimensions of the SF-36. Multiple linear regression and t-tests were used to analyse the data. Results A downward trend in HRQoL continued from 2 to 14 concurrent comorbidities. Patients with a higher number of comorbidities reported greater deficits in HRQoL, when age, gender, education and perceived social support were controlled for (beta = -0.11 to -0.31). The impact of the number of comorbidities was greatest for the bodily pain dimension of the SF-36 (beta = -0.31). Deficits were greatest for people with gastrointestinal conditions and back pain or sciatica. Moderate to large deficits in HRQoL compared to a normative population were found (Cohen's d = 0.54-1.16). Discussion Understanding associations between the number and type of physical comorbidities and HRQoL may assist clinical services to design broad but targeted interventions to optimize HRQoL in this group of people.
['Tyack|Zephanie|Z|0000-0003-3376-5731', 'Kuys|Suzanne|S|', 'Cornwell|Petrea|P|', 'Frakes|Kerrie-Anne|KA|', 'McPhail|Steven|S|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D003153:Community Health Services D017281:Cost of Illness D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D016014:Linear Models D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D000076322:Multimorbidity D000071069:Multiple Chronic Conditions D015999:Multivariate Analysis D011788:Quality of Life D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D055815:Young Adult
Health-related quality of life multimorbidity chronic disease complex chronic conditions multimorbidity epidemiology