Multimorbidity in a Mexican Community: Secondary Analysis of Chronic Illness and Depression Outcomes

The aims of this article are: 1) to examine the associations between health provider-diagnosed depression and multimorbidity, the condition of suffering from more than two chronic illnesses; 2) to assess the unique contribution of chronic illness in the prediction of depression; and 3) to suggest practice changes that would address risk of depression among individuals with chronic illnesses. Data collected in a cross-sectional community health study among adult Mexicans (n= 274) living in a low income neighborhood (colonia) in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, were examined. We tested the hypotheses that individuals who reported suffering chronic illnesses would also report higher rates of depression than healthy individuals; and having that two or more chronic illnesses further increased the risk of depression.