Multimorbidity resilience and health behaviors among older adults

A longitudinal study using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Bibliographic Data

ID22083052
AuthorsAndrew Wister (0000-0002-0045-7428, Simon Fraser University, corresponding author), Lun Li (0009-0000-3544-753X, MacEwan University), Carly Whitmore (0000-0002-3974-4854, McMaster University), Jennifer K Ferris (0000-0003-3624-6996, Simon Fraser University), Jennifer Ferris (0009-0002-0902-0414), Katarzyna Klasa (0000-0002-4468-3603, University of Michigan), Igor Linkov (0000-0002-0823-8107, United States Army Corps of Engineers)
Year2022
Volume10
Pages896312-896312
Publication date2022-09-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2022.896312
PMID36211713
OpenAlexW4296998920
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited84

Objective: There has been a growing interest in examining why some individuals adapt and bounce back from multimorbidity (resilience) better than others. This paper investigates the positive role of protective health behaviors on multimorbidity resilience (MR) among older adults focusing on older persons with two or more concurrent chronic conditions, and separately for three multimorbidity chronic illness clusters. Methods: Using Baseline and Follow-up One data from the Comprehensive Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, we studied 10,628 participants aged 65 years and older who reported two or more of 27 chronic conditions, and three multimorbidity clusters: Cardiovascular/metabolic, Musculoskeletal, and Mental health. Associations between health behaviors and MR were evaluated using Linear Mixed Models, adjusting for socio-demographic, social/environmental, and illness context social determinants of health. Results: Among older adults with two or more illnesses, smoking, satisfaction with sleep, appetite, and skipping meals were associated with MR in the expected direction. Also, obesity (compared to normal weight) and skipping meals showed longitudinal interaction effects with survey wave. Most of the results were replicated for the physical multimorbidity clusters (Cardiovascular/metabolic and Musculoskeletal) compared to the full 2+ multimorbidity analyses; however, for the Mental health cluster, only satisfaction with sleep was supported as a lifestyle predictor of MR. Discussion: Several modifiable health behaviors identified in the broader health and aging literature are important in affecting levels of multimorbidity resilience in older age. These factors are important strength-based areas to target. Additionally, several social determinants of health are also supported and parallel research on multimorbidity risk. The effects of lifestyle factors for resilience among older adults is dependent on the type of multimorbidity measured. We conclude that the results have significant public health, program intervention, and clinical implications for healthy aging among persons coping with multimorbidity

Cohort · Cohort study · Comorbidity · Longitudinal study · Mental health · Multimorbidity · Obesity · Psychiatry · Psychological resilience · Social support · Chronic Disease Management Strategies · Diabetes Management and Education · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Medicine · Psychology · Gerontology

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