About half of all Australians have a chronic disease, and around 20% have at least two, according to new data released online recently by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The release covers eight chronic diseases: arthritis, asthma, back pain, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health conditions.
Ageing is a factor that has a particularly strong association with comorbidity (The presence of two diseases simultaneously). Nearly 40% of Australians aged 45 and over have two or more of the eight chronic diseases examined in today’s release. The research indicates that the two most common chronic diseases to occur in combination with any other chronic disease were arthritis and cardiovascular disease. This was closely followed by arthritis and back pain and the combination of back pain and cardiovascular disease.
Comorbidities are associated with poorer health outcomes, more frequent use of health services, and higher healthcare costs, but if you have access to a comorbidity specialist like the practitioners at the EP Group, those statistics can radically change. Our skill set allows us to tackle a range of different conditions simultaneously and our track record speaks for itself. Outside of Exercise Physiologists, few other allied health professionals can provide this level of care to people suffering comorbidities.
