Media release
From: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)Multimorbidity more common among people with more risk factors
Living with 2 or more chronic conditions, also known as multimorbidity, becomes more likely with risk factors such as poor diet and smoking, according to a new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report.
Published today, Multimorbidity in Australia explores the prevalence of people living with multimorbidity and associated risk factors, as well as how multimorbidity impacts quality of life, health care use and mortality.
Almost 4 in 10 Australians or 9.7 million people were estimated to be living with multimorbidity in 2022.
‘Multimorbidity is more common among people with more risk factors, which include smoking, high blood pressure, insufficient physical activity, not eating a healthy diet and living with overweight or obesity,’ said AIHW spokesperson Amy Young.
‘Among adults with 4 or more risk factors, 59% were living with multimorbidity compared with 29% of people with no risk factors.'
‘Some of the risk factors are preventable and modifying them can reduce an individual’s risk of developing a chronic disease and lead to improved health outcomes.’
The most common pair of co-occurring conditions among people of all ages were anxiety and depression, affecting an estimated 2.4 million people or 9.3% of the Australian population.
Anxiety and back problems were the second most commonly co-occurring conditions (5.3%), followed by back problems and depression (4.0%).
An estimated 11% of young Australians aged 0–14 were living with multimorbidity, compared with 79% of those aged 85 and over in 2022.
‘Conditions more commonly diagnosed in childhood, such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder and autism, feature in multimorbidity at younger age groups,’ Ms Young said.
‘In contrast, conditions that develop over the life course like back problems, osteoarthritis and hearing loss feature more with increasing age.’
Typically, multimorbidity is more common among females. However, when looking at age comparisons, multimorbidity is significantly more likely among males aged 0–14 and 75 and over than females of the same age.
‘People living with multimorbidity often have more complex health needs and report poorer overall quality of life,’ Ms Young said.
‘This makes preventing and managing multimorbidity an important focus for individuals, the health system and society as a whole.’
