Does socio-economic status influence the effect of multimorbidity on the frequent use of ambulatory care services in a universal healthcare system? A population-based cohort study.

Background: Frequent healthcare users place a significant burden on health systems. Factors such as multimorbidity and low socioeconomic status have been associated with high use of ambulatory care services (emergency rooms, general practitioners and specialist physicians). However, the combined effect of these two factors remains poorly understood.

Combined impacts of multimorbidity and mental disorders on frequent emergency department visits: a retrospective cohort study in Quebec, Canada.

Background: Multimorbidity and mental disorders are independently associated with frequent visits to the emergency department (≥ 3 visits/yr), but their interaction has been little studied. We aimed to measure the interaction between mental disorders and physical multimorbidity with respect to frequent visits to the emergency department.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of adults in Quebec from 2012 to 2016, using the Quebec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System.