Examining multimorbidity among middle-aged Canadians

Multimorbidity refers the presence of two or more chronic diseases. With the aging population, the number of people in Canada with multimorbidity can be expected to increase substantially. Although multimorbidity is common among older people, a considerable number of middle-aged people also have multimorbidity. Multimorbidity has a significant impact on people’s functional status and quality of life. There are few studies, however, that have examined the consequences of multimorbidity among middle-aged people. This study has three objectives: (1) To examine the prevalence of multimorbidity among middle-aged Canadians; (2) To describe the socio-demographic (e.g., sex, education) and lifestyle factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use) associated with multi-morbidity among middle-aged Canadians; and, (3) To examine the association between multimorbidity and labour force participation among middle-aged Canadians.

Our project found that the prevalence of multimorbidity, defined as the coexisting three or more chronic conditions, was high among middle-aged people (39.59%). Multivariate logistic regression showed that being older, female sex and low income were associated with multimorbidity. Alcohol intake was found to be protective against multimorbidity. Exercise was not related to multimorbidity. We also found that multimorbidity was associated with being retired and unemployed, but not the number of hours worked.