Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity and Dementia Onset among Middle-aged and Older Adults: Differences by Race/Ethnicity.

Background: Racial/ethnic minoritized groups in the U.S. have higher prevalence of cardiometabolic multimorbidity and experience higher risk of dementia.

The extent and burden of high multimorbidity on older adults in the US: a descriptive analysis of Medicare beneficiaries.

Background: The impact of multimorbidity (≥ 2 chronic diseases) on the well-being of older adults is substantial but variable. The burden of multimorbidity varies by the number and kinds of conditions, and timing of onset. The impact varies by age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and health indicators.

Multimorbidity and associated informal care receiving characteristics for US older adults: a latent class analysis.

Background: Older adults with varying patterns of multimorbidity may require distinct types of care and rely on informal caregiving to meet their care needs. This study aims to identify groups of older adults with distinct, empirically-determined multimorbidity patterns and compare characteristics of informal care received among estimated classes.

Methods: Data are from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS).

Mental-somatic multimorbidity in trajectories of cognitive function for middle-aged and older adults.

Introduction: Multimorbidity may confer higher risk for cognitive decline than any single constituent disease. This study aims to identify distinct trajectories of cognitive impairment probability among middle-aged and older adults, and to assess the effect of changes in mental-somatic multimorbidity on these distinct trajectories.

Methods: Data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016) were employed to estimate group-based trajectory models identifying distinct trajectories of cognitive impairment probability.

Recommendations on Methods for Assessing Multimorbidity Changes Over Time: Aligning the Method to the Purpose.

Background: The rapidly growing field of multimorbidity research demonstrates that changes in multimorbidity in mid- and late-life have far reaching effects on important person-centered outcomes, such as health-related quality of life. However, there are few organizing frameworks and comparatively little work weighing the merits and limitations of various quantitative methods applied to the longitudinal study of multimorbidity.

Methods: We identify and discuss methods aligned to specific research objectives with the goals of (i) establishing a common language for assessing longitudinal changes in multimorbidity, (ii) illuminating gaps in our knowledge regarding multimorbidity progression and critical periods of change, and (iii) informing research to identify groups that experience different rates and divergent etiological pathways of disease progression linked to deterioration in important health-related outcomes.