Table 1 Health problems used to operationalize multimorbidity
From: Multimorbidity in older adults: magnitude and challenges for the Brazilian health system
Morbidity | How information was gathered? | Question or scale | Case |
|---|---|---|---|
1) High Blood Pressure (HBP) | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have High Blood Pressure? | Yes |
2) Diabetes | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have diabetes or high blood sugar levels? | Yes |
3) Lung problem | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have lung problem (bronchitis, emphysema, COPD, asthma)? | Yes |
4) Heart problem | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have heart problem? | Yes |
5) Stroke | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have had stroke? | Yes |
6) Rheumatism, arthritis or arthrosis | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have rheumatism, arthritis or arthrosis? | Yes |
7) Disease in spinal column (any problem reported) | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have a disease in your spinal column? | Yes |
8) Cancer | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician ever told you that you had cancer? | Yes |
9) Kidney problem | Medical diagnosis self-reported | Has a physician told you that you have a kidney problem? | Yes |
10) Cognitive impairment | Scale | Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), composed of 30 items [46, 47] | ≤22 |
11) Depression | Scale | Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), composed of 15 items [48] | ≥6 |
12) Urinary incontinence | Self-reported | Do you have problem of accidentally wetting yourself? | Yes |
13) Amputation in any part of the body | Self-reported | At any time in life have you had to amputate some part of your body? | Yes |
14) Eyesight problem | Self-reported | Does your eyesight hinder you in doing the things you need or want to do? | Yes |
15) Hearing problem | Self-reported | Does your hearing hinder you in doing the activities that you need or want to do? | Yes |
16) Problem chewing food | Self-reported | Do you have any problem or difficulty chewing food? | Yes |
17) Falls | Self-reported | Have you fallen at any time since <1 year ago > until now? | Yes |