Multimorbidity patterns in older migrants and natives across Europe

BACKGROUND: Multimorbidity patterns in immigrants may differ from the native population due to their biological traits and experience in origin and receiving countries. This study addresses the descriptive patterns of multimorbidity by gender and immigration background and compares the prevalence of each multimorbidity pattern between immigrants and natives. METHODS: This study utilizes longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) from waves 2 to 8 in individuals aged 50 to 79 from 28 European countries. We estimate the prevalence of single chronic diseases and two-disease combinations. Further, we estimate the risk ratio of the estimated prevalence between immigrants and natives for comparison. RESULTS: This study finds varying multimorbidity patterns based on immigration background. Our results show that combinations including stomach ulcers or diabetes are distinctly more prevalent in immigrants than in natives for both genders, except for the “diabetes-cardiovascular” patterns among men. Further, we observe a higher prevalence of the “dementia-diabetes” combination among immigrant men at their younger ages, which eventually converges toward the native level in older age groups. However, these patterns of multimorbidity combinations in immigrants versus natives vary by origin and the receiving country. CONCLUSIONS: A chronic health condition in the immigrant population can have a stronger amplifying or buffering effect on the risk of having another chronic disease than their native-born counterparts. KEY MESSAGES: • Multimorbidity patterns in immigrants differ from the native population due to their biological traits and experience in origin and receiving countries. • A chronic health condition in the immigrant population can have a stronger amplifying or buffering effect on the risk of having another chronic disease than their native-born counterparts.