RT journal article
T1 Epidemiology, mortality, and health service use of local-level multimorbidity patterns in South Spain
A1 Álvarez Gálvez, Javier
A1 Ortega Martín, María Esther
A1 Ramos Fiol, Begoña
A1 Sanz Suarez-Lledo, Víctor José
A1 Carretero Bravo, Jesús Ángel
A2 BiomedicinaBiotecnología y Salud Pública
A2 Economía General
A2 Enfermería y Fisioterapia
AB Multimorbidity –understood as the occurrence of chronic diseases together– represents a major challenge for healthcare systems due to its impact on disability, quality of life, increased use of services and mortality. However, despite the global need to address this health problem, evidence is still needed to advance our understanding of its clinical and social implications. Our study aims to characterise multimorbidity patterns in a dataset of 1,375,068 patients residing in southern Spain. Combining LCA techniques and geographic information, together with service use, mortality, and socioeconomic data, 25 chronicity profiles were identified and subsequently characterised by sex and age. The present study has led us to several findings that take a step forward in this field of knowledge. Specifically, we contribute to the identification of an extensive range of at-risk groups. Moreover, our study reveals that the complexity of multimorbidity patterns escalates at a faster rate and is associated with a poorer prognosis in local areas characterised by lower socioeconomic status. These results emphasize the persistence of social inequalities in multimorbidity, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to mitigate the impact on patients’ quality of life, healthcare utilisation, and mortality rates.
PB Nature Research
SN 2041-1723
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32026
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32026
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 07-nov-2026