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When Diseases Co-Exist
Living with multiple chronic conditions
Nicholas Schiltz
A recent Case Western Reserve-led study found that an estimated 82 million adults in the United States reported receiving treatment for at least two conditions within a year. The most common combination was hypertension and high cholesterol, which occurred in nearly 31 million people.
The problem isn't just that people are simultaneously dealing with several conditions—but that some healthcare providers may not focus on the interactions among the diseases, or the various prescriptions patients are taking.
"The study showed that many multimorbidity combinations are highly prevalent among U.S. adults, despite the fact that most research and practice guidelines still focus on a single disease," said Nicholas Schiltz, PhD, an assistant professor at CWRU's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, who led the study, published late last year in Frontiers of Public Health.
The comprehensive analysis was based on a household medical expenditure survey administered by a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agency from 2016 to 2019. In that survey of adults, almost a third reported they received treatment for at least two conditions in a single year; nearly 21% reported at least three conditions, and just over 12% reported four or more. And the older the individuals, the more likely they were to have multiple conditions.
Schiltz believes the study—which reported 223 combinations of chronic diseases—is the largest of its kind and hopes more work will be done to assess optimal prevention and treatment strategies for people living with multiple chronic conditions.
