title: A Latent Class Analysis of Multimorbidity and the Relationship to Socio-Demographic Factors and Health-Related Quality of Life. A National Population-Based Study of 162,283 Danish Adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify patterns of multimorbidity in the general population and examine how these patterns are related to socio-demographic factors and health-related quality of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used latent class analysis to identify subgroups with statistically distinct and clinically meaningful disease patterns in a nationally representative sample of Danish adults (N = 162,283) aged 16+ years. The analysis was based on 15 chronic diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven classes with different disease patterns were identified: a class with no or only a single chronic condition (59% of the population) labeled "1) Relatively Healthy" and six classes with a very high prevalence of multimorbidity labeled; "2) Hypertension" (14%); "3) Musculoskeletal Disorders" (10%); "4) Headache-Mental Disorders" (7%); "5) Asthma-Allergy" (6%); "6) Complex Cardiometabolic Disorders" (3%); and "7) Complex Respiratory Disorders" (2%). Female gender was associated with an increased likelihood of belonging to any of the six multimorbidity classes except for class 2 (Hypertension). Low educational attainment predicted membership of all of the multimorbidity classes except for class 5 (Asthma-Allergy). Marked differences in health-related quality of life between the seven latent classes were found. Poor health-related quality of life was highly associated with membership of class 6 (Complex Cardiometabolic Disorders) and class 7 (Complex Respiratory Disorders). Despite different disease patterns, these two classes had nearly identical profiles in relation to health-related quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results clearly support that diseases tend to compound and interact, which suggests that a differentiated public health and treatment approach towards multimorbidity is needed.
authors.affiliation: DEFACTUM - Public Health & Health Services Research, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Finn Breinholt
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.affiliation: DEFACTUM - Public Health & Health Services Research, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Marie Hauge
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: DEFACTUM - Public Health & Health Services Research, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Friis
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Prevention and Health, Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Glümer
authors.affiliation: DEFACTUM - Public Health & Health Services Research, Central Denmark Region, Aarhus, Denmark.|Department of Psychology, Southern University of Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lasgaard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D011634:Public Health; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult