Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register study

Background: The number of patients with multimorbidity challenges healthcare systems worldwide. Objective: To explore the development of multimorbidity prevalence in the Danish population over the course of 18 years. Design: National registers were used to form eighteen cohorts including all persons...

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Main Authors: Rasmus Køster-Rasmussen, Volkert Siersma, Dagny R. Nicolaisdóttir, Frederikke A. Modin, Asger Waagepetersen, Maarten Rozing, Anne Holm, Susanne Reventlow, Tora G. Willadsen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-03-01
Series:Journal of Multimorbidity and Comorbidity
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/26335565251331182
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author Rasmus Køster-Rasmussen
Volkert Siersma
Dagny R. Nicolaisdóttir
Frederikke A. Modin
Asger Waagepetersen
Maarten Rozing
Anne Holm
Susanne Reventlow
Tora G. Willadsen
author_facet Rasmus Køster-Rasmussen
Volkert Siersma
Dagny R. Nicolaisdóttir
Frederikke A. Modin
Asger Waagepetersen
Maarten Rozing
Anne Holm
Susanne Reventlow
Tora G. Willadsen
author_sort Rasmus Køster-Rasmussen
collection DOAJ
description Background: The number of patients with multimorbidity challenges healthcare systems worldwide. Objective: To explore the development of multimorbidity prevalence in the Danish population over the course of 18 years. Design: National registers were used to form eighteen cohorts including all persons aged ≥18 years; one cohort for each separate calendar year from 2000 to 2018. Multimorbidity was defined based on ten diagnosis groups (ICD-codes): lung, musculoskeletal, endocrine, mental, cancer, neurological, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, genitourinary, and sensory organs. At least two diagnoses from different diagnosis groups had to be present to be considered multimorbidity. The diagnoses were from hospital contacts in the Danish health registers. We report both ≥2 and ≥4 multimorbidity. Results: From 2000-2018, the prevalence of multimorbidity increased from 7.1 % to 16.1 % with a relative increase of 126% and 314% for ≥2 and ≥ 4 diagnosis groups, respectively. The oldest age groups had the highest prevalence. In 2018, half of the population aged ≥80 years had multimorbidity. Young women showed the relatively largest prevalence increase of ≥ 4 multimorbidity. In absolute terms, the number of musculoskeletal diagnoses increased the most, whereas genitourinary, endocrinological, and musculoskeletal diagnoses showed the highest relative increase. Conclusions: In Denmark, the prevalence of patients with multimorbidity is increasing, and it has more than doubled from 2000-2018. The observed development in occurrence of multimorbidity over time may serve as relevant input for governments when rethinking the health care.
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spelling doaj-art-b044cb5487e04feebb7301eb46cad8812025-08-20T02:12:15ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Multimorbidity and Comorbidity2633-55652025-03-011510.1177/26335565251331182Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register studyRasmus Køster-RasmussenVolkert SiersmaDagny R. NicolaisdóttirFrederikke A. ModinAsger WaagepetersenMaarten RozingAnne HolmSusanne ReventlowTora G. WilladsenBackground: The number of patients with multimorbidity challenges healthcare systems worldwide. Objective: To explore the development of multimorbidity prevalence in the Danish population over the course of 18 years. Design: National registers were used to form eighteen cohorts including all persons aged ≥18 years; one cohort for each separate calendar year from 2000 to 2018. Multimorbidity was defined based on ten diagnosis groups (ICD-codes): lung, musculoskeletal, endocrine, mental, cancer, neurological, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, genitourinary, and sensory organs. At least two diagnoses from different diagnosis groups had to be present to be considered multimorbidity. The diagnoses were from hospital contacts in the Danish health registers. We report both ≥2 and ≥4 multimorbidity. Results: From 2000-2018, the prevalence of multimorbidity increased from 7.1 % to 16.1 % with a relative increase of 126% and 314% for ≥2 and ≥ 4 diagnosis groups, respectively. The oldest age groups had the highest prevalence. In 2018, half of the population aged ≥80 years had multimorbidity. Young women showed the relatively largest prevalence increase of ≥ 4 multimorbidity. In absolute terms, the number of musculoskeletal diagnoses increased the most, whereas genitourinary, endocrinological, and musculoskeletal diagnoses showed the highest relative increase. Conclusions: In Denmark, the prevalence of patients with multimorbidity is increasing, and it has more than doubled from 2000-2018. The observed development in occurrence of multimorbidity over time may serve as relevant input for governments when rethinking the health care.https://doi.org/10.1177/26335565251331182
spellingShingle Rasmus Køster-Rasmussen
Volkert Siersma
Dagny R. Nicolaisdóttir
Frederikke A. Modin
Asger Waagepetersen
Maarten Rozing
Anne Holm
Susanne Reventlow
Tora G. Willadsen
Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register study
Journal of Multimorbidity and Comorbidity
title Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register study
title_full Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register study
title_fullStr Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register study
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register study
title_short Prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in Denmark. A nationwide register study
title_sort prevalence of multimorbidity during 18 years in denmark a nationwide register study
url https://doi.org/10.1177/26335565251331182
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