1272Patterns of multimorbidity show strong association between many chronic condition pairs

Abstract Background Many people with chronic conditions do not have a single condition: 4.9 million (20%) Australians had multimorbidity (2 or more chronic conditions) in 2017–18. Understanding which conditions co-occur can inform treatment guidelines. This study performs new analysis on Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017–18 National Health Survey data to identify conditions that commonly co-occur, and that co-occur at a higher than expected prevalence. Methods Analysis was restricted to people aged 45 and over (most people with multimorbidity). Using 10 selected chronic conditions, weighted age-adjusted estimates of observed and expected events for each combination of 2 conditions were calculated. To identify pairs of conditions that co-occurred at a higher than expected prevalence, the ratio of observed to expected prevalence was assessed using a 95% confidence interval. Results Over half of the condition pairs tested were significantly associated. The most strongly associated conditions were asthma with COPD (with co-occurrence 3.5 times as high as expected), diabetes with chronic kidney disease (2.5 times as high), and cardiovascular diseases with chronic kidney disease (2.3 times as high). Conclusions Multimorbidity is common, with many conditions co-occurring more frequently than expected by chance. Developing treatment guidelines that consider common multimorbidities would support holistic patient care. Key messages Many chronic condition pairs occur together in individuals more often than would be expected by chance. There were strong associations between asthma and COPD, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney disease.