Agenda

24/04/2014

Multimorbidity. Towards a shift in the focus of etiologic research

Sala Xipre (173.06-1a planta IMIM) a les 15:00 hores

En el marc de les sessions d'Epidemiologia i Salut Pública de l'IMIM, el proper dia 24 d'abril a les 15:00 h tindrà lloc la sessió "Multimorbidity. Towards a shift in the focus of etiologic research" a càrrec de Dra. Amaia Calderón, del grup de recerca de l'Institut de Ciències de la Salut d'Aragó (IIS Aragon). La sessió tindrà lloc a la Sala Xipre (173.06-1a planta de l'IMIM).

Resum en anglès

It is a well-known fact that one in four adults have two or more chronic conditions and that half of older adults have three or more chronic conditions. What is less obvious is how those diseases are aggregated and evolve within individuals and populations, as well as the underlying mechanisms that may explain these associations. A few studies have shown that certain diseases co-occur at a significantly higher rate than is expected by chance alone, leading to disease “constellations” formally named as multimorbidity patterns. Although it could be expected that diseases are concentrated in an individual if one disease is directly responsible for the others or if they all share common risk factors, additional mechanisms beyond those of a pathophysiological nature which are rather related to socio-economic, cultural, environmental and behavioral factors have also been described. Studies focusing on the investigation of the etiology, as well as the course and the impact of specific combinations of chronic conditions are crucial for several reasons. First, even if the effect of multimorbidity on mortality, functional status, quality of life and health care has been soundly demonstrated, it remains largely unclear which specific disease combinations are responsible for specific effects. Second, knowledge about how diseases cluster and how such clusters evolve along an individual’s life can lead to better treatment and prevention strategies in patients with multiple health problems. Third, research on the causal mechanisms of multimorbidity could shed light on the role of less intuitive factors such as iatrogenia in this phenomenon. And fourth, observations about possible synergistic effects among particular disease combinations on outcomes can derive in a large health gain by early recognition of consecutive diseases.

Breu curriculum

Amaia Calderón holds a PhD in Public Health and has experience in chronic disease epidemiology and health services research. She is part of the EpiChron Research Group of the Aragon Health Sciences Institute - IIS Aragon, and Associate Professor at the Dept. of Public Health of the University of Zaragoza. Amaia is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Research Community on Multimorbidity and belongs to the REDISSEC Chronic Disease Health Services Research Network.

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