TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of study sample by multimorbidity patterns
| Total sample (N = 2,478) | Neuro‐ psychiatric (n = 183) | Cardiovascular (n = 243) | Sensory impairment/cancer (n = 384) | Respiratory/metabolic/musculoskeletal (n = 503) | Unspecific (n = 1,165) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 75.0 (10.4) | 72.5 (10.0) | 82.4 (8.5) | 83.4 (8.8) | 71.6 (8.9) | 72.6 (9.5) |
| Female, % | 64.3 | 70.5 | 60.0 | 67.2 | 59.6 | 65.3 |
| Education, % | ||||||
| Elementary | 17.0 | 13.7 | 26.0 | 21.5 | 18.3 | 13.4 |
| High school | 51.6 | 48.6 | 55.4 | 53.9 | 51.8 | 50.6 |
| University | 31.4 | 37.7 | 18.6 | 24.6 | 29.9 | 36.0 |
| Civil status, | ||||||
| Partnered, % | 44.2 | 39.6 | 40.0 | 30.3 | 47.7 | 49.7 |
| APOE ε4 allele, % | 29.2 | 27.3 | 23.9 | 24.8 | 27.7 | 32.6 |
| Serum CRP > 5 mg/L, % | 21.9 | 26.0 | 30.6 | 25.1 | 28.8 | 15.6 |
| Malnutrition*, % | 3.2 | 3.3 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 |
| Number of diseases, mean (SD) | 4.4 (2.2) | 5.3 (2.1) | 7.7 (2.4) | 5.8 (1.9) | 4.5 (1.8) | 3.2 (1.2) |
| MMSE score, mean (SD) | 28.5 (1.9) | 28.7 (1.6) | 27.9 (2.3) | 27.6 (2.3) | 28.9 (1.4) | 28.8 (1.6) |
Abbreviations: APOE ε4, apolipoprotein epsilon 4 (at least 1 allele); CRP, C‐reactive protein; MMSE, Mini Mental State Examination.
The distribution of all variables was significantly different across multimorbidity patterns (P < 0.05).
*
Defined as body mass index <18.5 kg/m2.
Missing data: 8 in educational level; 6 in civil status; 189 in APOE genotype, 136 in CRP, 5 in MMSE.