By: William A. Satariano, and Marlon Maus
This book represents a collaboration of experts in the field of aging and public health. The present book builds on the first edition of the book (Epidemiology of Aging: An Ecological Approach. Satariano, 2006).
Various international researchers and practitioners were asked to join the project based on their expertise in particular areas of aging research, practice, and policy. This has resulted in a book that presents each topic, e.g., cognitive function, as an outcome in epidemiological research. In addition, each chapter considers conceptual and measurement issues, implications for practice and policy, and future directions for research. The book stresses a global perspective identifying work from countries throughout the world, not just the U.S.
This edition of the book is intended to target a wide audience which includes not only other experts in the field and academics, but also students, practitioners and interested researchers from other disciplines. The book is intended to help inspire further progress in the global effort towards what the World Health Organization has described as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” of our older population.
Chapter 8, Disease, Comorbidity, and Multimorbidity, by Martin Fortin, Aline Ramond, Cynthia Boyd, and Jose Almirall focuses on multimorbidity (MM). The authors explore how the several coexisting health conditions in a single individual negatively affect an individuals’ health-related outcomes (functional status, social participation, quality of life, life expectancy) and is also responsible for numerous impacts on society (healthcare utilization, direct and indirect costs). The importance of MM is now acknowledged as a research priority in health care, and in-depth understanding of its main determinants is required as a first step in this direction. This chapter helps distinguish MM-related essential definitions and concepts and successively addresses the role of sociodemographics, socioeconomic factors, social networks, social capital, genetics, lifestyle, psychological and psychosocial factors, and polypharmacy as potential risk factors for MM, following an ecological model of health. Finally, the chapter highlights current gaps in the literature as well as specific challenges, and suggests future directions for MM epidemiology research.