Study: More People Have Multiple Diseases

Increasing numbers of adults in the United Kingdom have multiple health problems, a new study says. And the British health system must change to cope with their needs, the authors say. The study focused on 1.75 million adults. They were registered with a total of 314 medical practices in Scotland. Records showed that 23% had at least 2 long-term (chronic) medical conditions. The study called this “multimorbidity.” Most of these patients saw multiple specialists. But their care was not well coordinated, the study found. The conditions included coronary artery disease, diabetes, cancer, depression and many others. Among people 65 and older, a majority had at least 2 conditions. The study found that multiple conditions were more common in poor areas. They also occurred 10 to 15 years earlier, on average.