The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey data
Abstract Background Multimorbidity is a rising public health concern. Indicators that address these complex health conditions are often exclusively devoted to physical diseases. Because of their high disease burden, mental health disorders ought to be considered as well. This paper aims to measure t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21028-0 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1846112027605467136 |
|---|---|
| author | Pierre Laloux Lydia Gisle William D’hoore Rana Charafeddine Johan Van der Heyden |
| author_facet | Pierre Laloux Lydia Gisle William D’hoore Rana Charafeddine Johan Van der Heyden |
| author_sort | Pierre Laloux |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Multimorbidity is a rising public health concern. Indicators that address these complex health conditions are often exclusively devoted to physical diseases. Because of their high disease burden, mental health disorders ought to be considered as well. This paper aims to measure the added value of including a mental health dimension in a population-based multimorbidity indicator and identify which mental health measures are most appropriate. Methods Secondary analyses were conducted on data from the Belgian Health Interview Survey 2018. We compared the prevalence of different multimorbidity indicators (MIs) in relation to health impact measures, such as quality of life (EQ-5D score) and activity limitation (GALI). The MIs differed as to the health conditions involved: one was based on physical conditions only; the other three included mental health dimensions that were either self-reported or assessed by a scale (GAD-7, PHQ-9, and GHQ-12). We performed linear and logistic regressions to assess the association between the MIs and the health correlates and compared the goodness of fit of the different models. Results MI prevalence was higher when including a mental health dimension assessed with the GHQ-12 (42.0%) and with the GAD-7 or the PHQ-9 (39.4%) as compared to physical conditions only (35.0%). Associations between the MI and health correlates were consistently stronger if the MI included a mental health dimension. The regression models with MI including the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 showed the strongest association between MI and the health correlates and also had the best goodness-of-fit measures. Conclusions MIs that only take physical conditions into account underestimate their impact on individuals’ lives. Including mental ill-health in an MI is key to linking it to health correlates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-231e1fdaf0274772a45dbc6a0d23a2f0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-231e1fdaf0274772a45dbc6a0d23a2f02024-12-22T12:52:29ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582024-12-0124111210.1186/s12889-024-21028-0The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey dataPierre Laloux0Lydia Gisle1William D’hoore2Rana Charafeddine3Johan Van der Heyden4Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), Université catholique de LouvainDepartment of Epidemiology and Public HealthInstitute of Health and Society (IRSS), Université catholique de LouvainDepartment of Epidemiology and Public HealthDepartment of Epidemiology and Public HealthAbstract Background Multimorbidity is a rising public health concern. Indicators that address these complex health conditions are often exclusively devoted to physical diseases. Because of their high disease burden, mental health disorders ought to be considered as well. This paper aims to measure the added value of including a mental health dimension in a population-based multimorbidity indicator and identify which mental health measures are most appropriate. Methods Secondary analyses were conducted on data from the Belgian Health Interview Survey 2018. We compared the prevalence of different multimorbidity indicators (MIs) in relation to health impact measures, such as quality of life (EQ-5D score) and activity limitation (GALI). The MIs differed as to the health conditions involved: one was based on physical conditions only; the other three included mental health dimensions that were either self-reported or assessed by a scale (GAD-7, PHQ-9, and GHQ-12). We performed linear and logistic regressions to assess the association between the MIs and the health correlates and compared the goodness of fit of the different models. Results MI prevalence was higher when including a mental health dimension assessed with the GHQ-12 (42.0%) and with the GAD-7 or the PHQ-9 (39.4%) as compared to physical conditions only (35.0%). Associations between the MI and health correlates were consistently stronger if the MI included a mental health dimension. The regression models with MI including the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 showed the strongest association between MI and the health correlates and also had the best goodness-of-fit measures. Conclusions MIs that only take physical conditions into account underestimate their impact on individuals’ lives. Including mental ill-health in an MI is key to linking it to health correlates.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21028-0MultimorbidityMental healthHealth interview surveyQuality of lifeActivity limitation |
| spellingShingle | Pierre Laloux Lydia Gisle William D’hoore Rana Charafeddine Johan Van der Heyden The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey data BMC Public Health Multimorbidity Mental health Health interview survey Quality of life Activity limitation |
| title | The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey data |
| title_full | The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey data |
| title_fullStr | The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey data |
| title_full_unstemmed | The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey data |
| title_short | The importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator: an analysis of Belgian health survey data |
| title_sort | importance of including a mental health dimension in a multimorbidity indicator an analysis of belgian health survey data |
| topic | Multimorbidity Mental health Health interview survey Quality of life Activity limitation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21028-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pierrelaloux theimportanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT lydiagisle theimportanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT williamdhoore theimportanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT ranacharafeddine theimportanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT johanvanderheyden theimportanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT pierrelaloux importanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT lydiagisle importanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT williamdhoore importanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT ranacharafeddine importanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata AT johanvanderheyden importanceofincludingamentalhealthdimensioninamultimorbidityindicatorananalysisofbelgianhealthsurveydata |