چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:With increasing life expectancy the number of people affected by multimorbidity rises. Knowledge of
factors associated with health-related quality of life in multimorbid people is scarce. We aimed to identify the factors
that are associated with self-rated health (SRH) in aged multimorbid primary care patients.
Methods:Cross-sectional study with 3,189 multimorbid primary care patients aged from 65 to 85 years recruited in
158 general practices in 8 study centers in Germany. Information about morbidity, risk factors, resources, functional
status and socio-economic data were collected in face-to-face interviews. Factors associated with SRH were
identified by multivariable regression analyses.
Results:Depression, somatization, pain, limitations of instrumental activities (iADL), age, distress and Body Mass
Index (BMI) were inversely related with SRH. Higher levels of physical activity, income and self-efficacy expectation
had a positive association with SRH. The only chronic diseases remaining in the final model were Parkinson’s disease
and neuropathies. The final model accounted for 35% variance of SRH. Separate analyses for men and women
detected some similarities; however, gender specific variation existed for several factors.
Conclusion:In multimorbid patients symptoms and consequences of diseases such as pain and activity limitations,
as well as depression, seem to be far stronger associated with SRH than the diseases themselves. High income and
self-efficacy expectation are independently associated with better SRH and high BMI and age with low SRH.
Trial registration:MultiCare Cohort study registration:ISRCTN89818205.
Keywords:Quality of life, Self-assessment, Chronic disease, Depression, Pain, Functionally- impaired elderly,
General practice