Table 1

Studies Reporting Prevalence of Multimorbidity in Primary Care Settings

SampleMethods
Study (Year)CountryNo. of PatientsAge, yRecruitmentData CollectionNo. of Diagnoses Considered
Schellevis et al (1993)15The Netherlands23,534AllPatients registered in 7 general practicesMedical history from patient records5
van den Akker et al (1998)1The Netherlands60,857AllPatients included in the Registration Network of Family Practices (15 practices)Medical history from computerized databaseICPC codes related to diagnostic categories
Macleod et al (2004)16United Kingdom7,286≥18Patients registered in a practiceMedical history from computerized database8 major diseases
Fortin et al (2005)13Canada980≥18Patients in the waiting room of 21 family physiciansMedical history from patient recordsAll
Kadam et al (2007)14United Kingdom9,439≥50Responders to a survey who consulted their GP before the surveyMedical history from patient records185 morbidities categorized on 4 ordinal scales of severity
Schram et al (2008)30The Netherlands2,895 (setting 1), 5,610 (setting 2)≥55Patients from 2 GP registries, 1 of 4 general practices with 10 GPs and another of 4 general practices with 20 GPsMedical history from patient records68 morbidities (setting 1) and 83 morbidities (setting 2), with >2% prevalence
Uijen and van de Lisdonk (2008)2The Netherlands13,584AllPatients included in the Primary Care Research Network, 4 practices (10 GPs)Medical history from patient recordsAll chronic diseases with an ICHPPC code except very rare conditions
Britt et al (2008)12Australia9,156AllPatients attending 305 GPsGPs recorded morbidity, using their knowledge of patients, patient self-report, and medical records18 morbidities or categories classified into 8 CIRS morbidity domains and 1 additional domain for malignancies
Minas et al (2010)17Greece20,299>14Patients visiting 4 primary health care centers and willing to participateStructured questionnaires completed by study coordinators who also checked medical recordsAll chronic diseases; diseases recorded were included in their respective organ system according to ICPC codes

  • CIRS = Cumulative Illness Rating Scale; GP = general practitioner; ICHPPC = International Classification of Health Problems in Primary Care; ICPC = International Classification of Primary Care.