Multimorbidity study with different levels of depression status

Objective: Depression is one of the leading causes of disability burden and frequently co-occurs with multiple chronic diseases, but limited research has yet evaluated the correlation between multimorbidity and depression status by sex and age. Methods: 29303 adults from 2005-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were involved in the study. The validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess depression status. The linear trend of the prevalence of multimorbidity was tested by logistic regressions, which was visualized by the weighted network. Gamma coefficient (gamma) was used to evaluate the correlation between multimorbidity and depression status. Results: The prevalence of multimorbidity in participants with no depression, mild depression, moderate depression and severe depression was 52.1%, 63.0%, 68.4% and 76.1%, respectively (p for trend < 0.001). In network analysis, the absolute network density increased with the levels of depression status (from 4.54 to 15.04). Positive correlation was identified between multimorbidity and depression status (gamma =0.21, p<0.001), and the correlation was different by sex and age, where it was stronger in women than men (females: gamma =0.23, males: gamma=0.16), and stronger in the young and the middle-age (young: gamma =0.30, middle-age: gamma =0.29, old: gamma=0.22). Limitations: This is a cross-sectional study and thus we cannot draw firm conclusions on causal correlations. Conclusions: Positive correlation between multimorbidity and depression status was identified, where the number of multimorbidity increased with the levels of depression status, especially in females, the young and the middle-age.

Automated summary

The study found a positive correlation between multimorbidity and depression status, with a higher prevalence of multimorbidity as depression status increased, especially in females, the young, and middle-aged individuals.