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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Lewis SteellORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2024. Background: Identifying clusters of multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs), also known as multimorbidity, and their associated burden may facilitate the development of effective and cost-effective targeted healthcare strategies. This study aimed to identify clusters of MLTCs and their associations with long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in two UK population-based cohorts. Methods: Age-stratified clusters of MLTCs were identified at baseline in UK Biobank (n = 502,363, 54.6% female) and UKHLS (n = 49,186, 54.8% female) using latent class analysis (LCA). LCA was applied to people who self-reported ≥ 2 LTCs (from n = 43 LTCs [UK Biobank], n = 13 LTCs [UKHLS]) at baseline, across four age-strata: 18–36, 37–54, 55–73, and 74 + years. Associations between MLTC clusters and HRQoL were investigated using tobit regression and compared to associations between MLTC counts and HRQoL. For HRQoL, we extracted EQ-5D index data from UK Biobank. In UKHLS, SF-12 data were extracted and mapped to EQ-5D index scores using a standard preference-based algorithm. HRQoL data were collected at median 5 (UKHLS) and 10 (UK Biobank) years follow-up. Analyses were adjusted for available sociodemographic and lifestyle covariates. Results: LCA identified 9 MLTC clusters in UK Biobank and 15 MLTC clusters in UKHLS. Clusters centred around pulmonary and cardiometabolic LTCs were common across all age groups. Hypertension was prominent across clusters in all ages, while depression featured in younger groups and painful conditions/arthritis were common in clusters from middle-age onwards. MLTC clusters showed different associations with HRQoL. In UK Biobank, clusters with high prevalence of painful conditions were consistently associated with the largest deficits in HRQoL. In UKHLS, clusters of cardiometabolic disease had the lowest HRQoL. Notably, negative associations between MLTC clusters containing painful conditions and HRQoL remained significant even after adjusting for number of LTCs. Conclusions: While higher LTC counts remain important, we have shown that MLTC cluster types also have an impact on HRQoL. Health service delivery planning and future intervention design and risk assessment of people with MLTCs should consider both LTC counts and MLTC clusters to better meet the needs of specific populations.
Author(s): Steell L, Krauth SJ, Ahmed S, Dibben GO, McIntosh E, Hanlon P, Lewsey J, Nicholl BI, McAllister DA, Smith SM, Evans R, Ahmed Z, Dean S, Greaves C, Barber S, Doherty P, Gardiner N, Ibbotson T, Jolly K, Ormandy P, Simpson SA, Taylor RS, Singh SJ, Mair FS, Jani BD
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: BMC Medicine
Year: 2025
Volume: 23
Online publication date: 08/01/2025
Acceptance date: 09/12/2024
Date deposited: 21/01/2025
ISSN (electronic): 1741-7015
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03811-3
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03811-3
Data Access Statement: The data that support these findings are available from UK Biobank and the UK Data service, subject to successful registration and application processes. Access to data from UK Biobank can be requested via the UK Biobank Access Management System https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/. Access to UKHLS data can be requested via UK Data Service https://ukdataservice.ac.uk/.
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