People with multiple chronic conditions reported persistently high levels of anxiety and depression, and worse physical function, according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine. Compared to white study participants, those who identified as non-white experienced worse health-related quality of life as multiple chronic health conditions increased, the study found.
“As people get older, it’s not just that they develop hypertension and that’s it. It’s that these conditions — which are often very manageable — start to accumulate, and, unfortunately, along with that come some negative quality-of-life side effects,” said corresponding study author Eileen Graham, associate professor of medical social sciences in the social determinants of health division at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
What may begin in earlier adulthood as a less severe condition may increase in severity with age and may be compounded by developing other conditions. For example, a person may be diagnosed with hypertension in midlife, then later develop type-2 diabetes and arthritis.
“There are so many unknowns with a complicated care regimen, such as needing to coordinate with multiple doctors, taking contra-indicating drugs and dealing with possible complications, it can lead to anxiety in patients,” Graham said. “Between that and the impaired physical function that is associated with having multiple conditions, all of these may contribute to higher reports of depressive symptoms.”
The most sobering finding, Graham said, was the decreased quality of life from multi-morbidities among racial minorities.
“I was disappointed, but not entirely surprised, to see that the effect of multimorbidity on quality of life was much starker among non-white individuals,” Graham said. “This points to a greater need to understand how the health care system can better support people from underrepresented communities.”
See “With age, accumulating health problems increase risk of depression and anxiety” by Kristin Samuelson on the Northwestern University website (January 25, 2024)
