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Table 1 Ranked prevalence of the 21 chronic conditions, with definitions, in 5029 Baby Boomers from the Busselton Healthy Ageing Study

From: Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in Australian baby boomers: the Busselton healthy ageing study

Condition

Definition

Prevalence (%)

Atopy

Positive (wheal > 3 mm) on skin prick tests for common allergens (dust-mites, grasses, moulds, cat hair, dog dander)

54.4

Arthritis

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed

25.1

Bowel disease

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed colonic polyps, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome or diverticular disease

23.3

Liver disease

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed cirrhosis of the liver or ALT > 40 U/L in men or > 35 U/L in women

23.1

Depression/anxiety

Current treatment or PHQ9 or GAD7 scores indicative of current depression or anxiety, respectively

20.5

Bronchitis

Self-reported chronic cough or phlegm on most days for > 3 months each year

17.6

Eye condition

Self-reported macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract, non-diabetes related serious eye condition resulting in loss of vision

14.6

Asthma

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed asthma

14.2

Heart disease

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed angina, cardiac pacemaker, myocardial infarction, coronary angioplasty or stent, or bypass surgery or Abnormal ECG

9.7

Thyroid disease

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed

8.6

Low back pain

Current self-reported chronic low back pain lasting > 3 months and Oswestry Disability Index > 12

8.5

Skin cancer

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed

8.2

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Apnoea hypopnea index > 19^ or, if not available, self-reported doctor-diagnosed

8.1

Hearing impairment

Audiometry best ear 4-frequency average > 25 dB* or, if not available, hearing impairment affecting daily life frequently/constantly

7.1

Diabetes

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed diabetes (not only during pregnancy) or fasting blood glucose > 7.0 mmol/L or glycosylated haemaglobin (HbA1c) > 6.5%

7

Cancer (non-skin cancer)

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed

6.7

COPD

Post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < 0.7 and FEV1% predicted < 80% or, if spirometry not available, self-reported doctor-diagnosed COPD

5.7

Kidney disease

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed kidney disease or estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min

5.2

Osteoporosis

DXA measured femur or AP spine T-score ≤ − 2.5^^ or, if not available, self-reported doctor-diagnosed

3.4

Stroke

Self-reported doctor-diagnosed stroke, TIA or carotid surgery (endarterectomy or stent)

2.1

Peripheral artery disease

Ankle brachial index < 0.9 for right or left side^^^

1.9

  1. Measured using ^Apnealink™ (Resmed), ^^Lunar Prodigy Pro Densitometer (GE), ^^^Vascular profiler VP1000™ (Omran), * Audiometry measured hearing loss of at least 25 dB (dB) (mean of thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz)
  2. Abbreviations:” ALT = Alanine transferase; PHQ9 = Patient Health Questionnaire-9; GAD7 = Generalised anxiety disorder – 7 item scale; COPD = Chronic obstructive pulmonary Disease; FEV1 = Forced expired volume in 1 s; FVC = Forced vital capacity: DXA = Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry; AP = Anterior-posterior; TIA = transient ischemic attack