Multimorbidity and health-related quality of life among elderly persons

Aim of this study was to analyze the effects of single diseases and multimorbidity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the elderly. Based on data from telephone interwiews with the getABI cohort, empirical analyses were conducted. To evaluate HRQoL, 2,120 participants (76.29 +/- 4.48 years old, 46.3% male) completed the EQ-5D and the SF-8 questionnaire. There is an inverse relationship between HRQoL and multimorbidity in the elderly. In comparison to psychological dimensions, physical domains decrease more clearly with rising morbidity. Analyzing the influence of single diseases, particularly cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases diagnosed in the last two years, the long-term existence of peripheral arterial disease and dysfunctions of the musculoskeletal system result in severe loss of HRQoL in older persons. Information on HRQoL can help health care providers obtain a comprehensive picture of their older and often multimorbid patients' state and perception of health. An optimized health care process should not only focus on the individual diagnoses, but also on the extent of multimorbidity and associated HRQoL effects.