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Contrasting Trends in Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Multimorbidity, Canada 1978–2014

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Abstract

Chronic diseases and multimorbidity prevalence are of concern in Canada owing to rapid aging population and increase in life expectancy. This study explored (1) trends in chronic disease prevalence and multimorbidity in Canadians from 1978 to 2014 and (2) how chronic diseases and multimorbidity can be ascribed to population aging compared with other contributing factors. This was a cross-sectional study of Canadian national health survey data. Data from this study were from three national Canadian health surveys for the years 1978 to 2014. Trends in prevalence rates over time, with and without standardization for age–sex population changes, were examined. A standard list of twelve (12) chronic diseases were tracked. The cross-sectional surveys used similar diagnostic criteria over the years. A decrease from 31.0 to 26.7% in chronic disease prevalence was found over the period. Standardization to the population in 2014 showed a 4.3 percentage point decrease in chronic disease trend. The decrease was significant for both women and men (4.9 vs 3.7). An increase in multimorbidity from 19.4 to 32.1% was recorded, a 12.7 percentage point increase. Standardization to the population in 2014 reduced the increase to 12.4 percentage points. About 2.4% of respondents reported multimorbidity due to aging. More women than men (4.4% vs 1.6%) reported multimorbidity due to aging. Chronic disease prevalence decreased while multimorbidity increased between 1978 and 2014. Population aging only explained part of the increase in multimorbidity; other driving forces besides the changing age–sex population structure may be largely responsible for the increase.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are from the Public Use Microdata Files (PUMF) of the Canada Health Survey, the National Population Health Survey, and the Canadian Community Health Surveys. Access to the data is available to bona fide researchers through institutions participating in the Statistics Canada Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) including university libraries throughout Canada (see https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/dli/dli). Access can also be arranged directly through DLI inquiries: statcan.maddli-damidd.statcan@canada.ca.

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Acknowledgments

BC is grateful to the School of Public Health, University of Saskatchewan for its financial assistance to the first author throughout his studies.

Funding

The author (s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The first author was a PhD candidate and was funded by a scholarship program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Saskatchewan Health Quality Council, Atrium Building, Innovation Place, 241–111 Research Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 3R2, Canada

    Batholomew Chireh

  2. School of Public Health and Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Carl D’Arcy

  3. Royal University Hospital, 103 Hospital Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Carl D’Arcy

Authors
  1. Batholomew Chireh
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  2. Carl D’Arcy
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Correspondence to Batholomew Chireh.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval was not required for this study since it was a secondary analysis of a series of national health surveys already conducted by Statistics Canada. The Canadian Community Health Surveys and the Canadian National Population Health Surveys were conducted by Statistics Canada. Also, the Canada Health Survey was conducted by Health Canada and Statistics Canada.

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Chireh, B., D’Arcy, C. Contrasting Trends in Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Multimorbidity, Canada 1978–2014. SN Compr. Clin. Med. 2, 1563–1572 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-020-00432-8

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