A NOVEL MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MULTIMORBIDITY INDEX: RESULTS FROM THE BALTIMORE LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF AGING

摘要

Although the incidence and prevalence of multimorbidity(MM) have surged, there is no consensus on an optimal tool to measure MM as a risk factor for functional decline or as an outcome. Most of the available tools have been developed based on medical reports, hospital administrative records or self-reports. In this study, we assessed a novel tool developed from repeated measures of clinical data collected in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. In 900 participants, aged 50–100 years with an average follow-up of 4.5 years, we assessed organ-specific medical examinations and medication use to develop a rigorous index that captures time-dependent accumulative MM effects on accelerated aging. A weighted index using longitudinal data provides a time-dependent weighted association, a novel multi-dimensional index that significantly predicts accelerated age-related adverse outcomes.