Table 4. Associations between multimorbidity and physical function domains using multiple linear regressions.
| Variables | UEF | BLEF | ALEF | Overall function | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | SE | B | SE | B | SE | B | SE | |
| Number of chronic diseases (Ref: No disease) | ||||||||
| 1 | -0.05 | 0.67 | -0.98 | 0.83 | -3.54* | 1.11 | -2.87* | 0.82 |
| 2+ | -4.27* | 0.66 | -8.79* | 0.82 | -14.27* | 1.09 | -10.95* | 0.81 |
| Age group (Ref:21–44) | ||||||||
| 45–64 | 0.41 | 0.67 | 0.005 | 0.83 | -3.70* | 1.10 | -3.12* | 0.82 |
| ≥ 65 | -4.73* | 0.90 | -8.74* | 1.11 | -18.91* | 1.49 | -13.95* | 1.10 |
| Women (Ref: Men) | -1.67* | 0.56 | -2.73* | 0.69 | -6.62* | 0.92 | -5.35* | 0.68 |
| Ethnicity (Ref: Chinese) | ||||||||
| Malay | -1.35 | 0.92 | -4.12* | 1.14 | -6.76* | 1.52 | -5.15* | 1.12 |
| Indian | -0.44 | 0.80 | -2.52* | 0.98 | -4.02* | 1.31 | -2.68* | 0.97 |
| Others | -3.27* | 1.48 | -3.64* | 1.83 | -6.08* | 2.44 | -4.69 | 1.80 |
| Highest education (Ref: No formal education) | ||||||||
| Primary | 4.35* | 0.97 | 5.32* | 1.20 | 7.59* | 1.60 | 4.97* | 1.18 |
| Secondary | 5.41* | 0.85 | 8.93* | 1.05 | 12.40* | 1.41 | 8.68* | 1.04 |
| Post-secondary | 5.65* | 0.95 | 9.25* | 1.17 | 15.93* | 1.56 | 11.45* | 1.15 |
| Smoking status (Ref: Never smoked) | ||||||||
| Never smoked | 1.41 | 0.80 | 1.25 | 0.99 | 0.44 | 1.32 | 0.62 | 0.98 |
| Former smoker | -1.49 | 0.81 | -2.35* | 1.00 | -2.59 | 1.33 | -1.41 | 0.98 |
Note: UEF = upper extremity function; BLEF = basic lower extremity function; ALEF = advanced lower extremity function, B = regression coefficient, SE = standard error
*p<0.05.