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. 2022 Apr;63(4):196-202.
doi: 10.11622/smedj.2020124. Epub 2020 Aug 17.

Changes in the prevalence of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders in Singapore between 2010 and 2016

Edimansyah Abdin  1 , Siow Ann Chong  1 , Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar  1 , Saleha Shafie  1 , Darren Seah  2 , Chun Ting Chan  3 , Stefan Ma  4 , Lyn James  4 , Derrick Heng  4 , Mythily Subramaniam  1
Affiliations

Changes in the prevalence of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders in Singapore between 2010 and 2016

Edimansyah Abdin et al. Singapore Med J. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction: Few studies have examined the changes in the prevalence of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders in recent years. The present study sought to examine whether the prevalence of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders in Singapore showed any changes between 2010 and 2016.

Methods: We extracted data from two repeated nationally representative cross-sectional surveys conducted among resident adults aged ≥ 18 years in Singapore. Significant changes were tested using pooled multinomial logistic regression analyses.

Results: The prevalence of comorbid mental and physical disorders increased significantly from 5.8% in 2010 to 6.7% in 2016. Among those with physical disorders, there were significant increases over time in the prevalence of comorbid generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) (0.1% vs. 0.4%) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (1.4% vs. 3.9%) in diabetes mellitus, and alcohol dependence in cardiovascular disorders (0.1% vs. 1.3%). Among those with mental disorders, there were significant increases over time in the prevalence of comorbid diabetes mellitus in OCD (4.1% vs. 10.9%), cancer in major depressive disorder (0.4% vs. 2.4%), and cardiovascular disorders in GAD (0.4% vs. 6.7%) and alcohol dependence (0.9% vs. 11.8%). Significant changes in the overall prevalence of comorbid mental and physical disorders were also observed across age group, education and employment status.

Conclusion: The prevalence of comorbid mental and physical disorders increased significantly over time. This finding supports the need for more appropriate clinical management with better integration between mental health and general medical care professionals across all aspects of the healthcare system to treat this comorbidity in Singapore.

Keywords: Asian; comorbidity; mental disorder; physical disorder; survey.

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