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. 2012;7(2):e32141.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032141. Epub 2012 Feb 16.

Comorbidity patterns in patients with chronic diseases in general practice

Luis García-Olmos  1 , Carlos H Salvador, Ángel Alberquilla, David Lora, Montserrat Carmona, Pilar García-Sagredo, Mario Pascual, Adolfo Muñoz, José Luis Monteagudo, Fernando García-López
Affiliations

Comorbidity patterns in patients with chronic diseases in general practice

Luis García-Olmos et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

Introduction: Healthcare management is oriented toward single diseases, yet multimorbidity is nevertheless the rule and there is a tendency for certain diseases to occur in clusters. This study sought to identify comorbidity patterns in patients with chronic diseases, by reference to number of comorbidities, age and sex, in a population receiving medical care from 129 general practitioners in Spain, in 2007.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a health-area setting of the Madrid Autonomous Region (Comunidad Autónoma), covering a population of 198,670 individuals aged over 14 years. Multiple correspondences were analyzed to identify the clustering patterns of the conditions targeted.

Results: Forty-two percent (95% confidence interval [CI]: 41.8-42.2) of the registered population had at least one chronic condition. In all, 24.5% (95% CI: 24.3-24.6) of the population presented with multimorbidity. In the correspondence analysis, 98.3% of the total information was accounted for by three dimensions. The following four, age- and sex-related comorbidity patterns were identified: pattern B, showing a high comorbidity rate; pattern C, showing a low comorbidity rate; and two patterns, A and D, showing intermediate comorbidity rates.

Conclusions: Four comorbidity patterns could be identified which grouped diseases as follows: one showing diseases with a high comorbidity burden; one showing diseases with a low comorbidity burden; and two showing diseases with an intermediate comorbidity burden.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Graphical depiction of chronic diseases, age and sex.
Correspondence analysis showing the projections on the plane defined by dimensions 1 and 2. M: Male, F: Female. ▴Variables most representative of dimension 2. ______ Pattern A. ---------- Pattern B. ………. Pattern C.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Graphical depiction of chronic diseases, age and sex.
Correspondence analysis showing the projections on the plane defined by dimensions 1 and 3. M: Male, F: Female. ▴ Variables most representative of dimension 3. ______ Pattern A. ---------- Pattern B. ………. Pattern C.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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