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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

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Correlates of single morbidities and multimorbidity in children: A cross-sectional study

Alex Luther1, Danielle Fearon2, Ian Colman3

  • 1School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Annals of Epidemiology
|August 30, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Parental stress and mental health significantly increase children's risk for multimorbidity. Identifying these factors can help prevent complex health conditions in youth.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health Research
  • Epidemiology
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • Multimorbidity, the co-occurrence of multiple chronic conditions, is a growing concern in pediatric populations.
  • Understanding the factors associated with multimorbidity in children is crucial for developing targeted interventions.
  • Previous research has primarily focused on adult multimorbidity, with less attention paid to pediatric-specific correlates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare the correlates of multimorbidity with single morbidity statuses in Canadian children.
  • To identify demographic and psychosocial factors associated with different childhood morbidity classifications.
  • To inform prevention strategies for childhood multimorbidity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 33,715 children (aged 5-17) from the Canadian Health Survey of Children and Youth.
  • Classified children's morbidity status (multimorbidity, physical illness only, mental disorder only, neurodevelopmental disorder only) based on person most knowledgeable (PMK) reports.
  • Employed multinomial logistic regression to analyze associations between characteristics and morbidity status, reporting odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Main Results:

  • Female and immigrant children showed lower odds of reporting multimorbidity and single morbidities.
  • Older children had higher odds of reporting multimorbidity (OR=2.3).
  • Elevated parental stress (OR=2.1), worse parental mental health (OR=3.0), and perceived unsafe communities (OR=1.5) were associated with increased odds of childhood multimorbidity.

Conclusions:

  • Demographic factors like age and sex, alongside parental mental health and stress, are key correlates of childhood morbidity.
  • The findings underscore the importance of a family-centered approach and integrated health services to address childhood multimorbidity.
  • Identifying at-risk children based on these correlates can facilitate the prevention of complex health conditions.

Keywords:
AdolescentChildrenChronic diseaseEpidemiologyPsychiatric disorder

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