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Research agenda
Multimorbidity: the case for prevention
  1. Anna Head1,
  2. Kate Fleming1,
  3. Chris Kypridemos1,
  4. Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard2,
  5. Martin O’Flaherty1
  1. 1 Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
  2. 2 School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Anna Head, Room 3.13, Whelan Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3DT, UK; anna.head{at}liverpool.ac.uk

Abstract

Multimorbidity is of increasing concern for healthcare systems globally, particularly in the context of ageing population structures, such as in the European Union and the UK. Although there is growing attention on developing strategies to manage the health and healthcare burden of older patients with multimorbidity, little research or policy focus has been placed on how to best prevent the development of multimorbidity in future generations. In this research agenda piece, we argue for a shift from a sole focus on the management of multimorbidity in old age to a multimorbidity agenda that considers prevention and management throughout the life-course.

  • Public health
  • Prevention
  • Epidemiology of chronic diseases
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-214301

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors AH drafted the initial manuscript and is responsible for the overall content. AH, CK, KF, MOF and JP-S all contributed to revising the manuscript. The final version was approved by all authors.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests AH, KF, CK and MOF report no competing interests. JP-S is vice-chairman of the Royal Society for Public Health and reports personal fees from Novo Nordisk A/S and Lane, Clark & Peacock LLP outside of the submitted work.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.