Multimorbidity and Complex Multiple Long-term Conditions - UK Incidence, Prevalence and Future Trends: A Systematic Review Protocol

This systematic review will look at studies reporting on the prevalence or incidence of multimorbidity and C-MLTC in adults in the UK. The secondary outcomes include any trends in confounding factors (age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geography), the methods used to report multimorbidity and, how is multimorbidity being defined, including which conditions are being included or excluded. The focus on UK-specific data allows more accurate trends to be identified, as variations in healthcare structures, risk factors, and socioeconomic structures mean findings from other high-income countries aren’t necessarily comparable to the UK. Identifying these trends, alongside variations in confounding factors (age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status), is important to direct health resources and public health information to the areas that need it most. Identifying differences in methods used to report multimorbidity and evaluating their benefits and limitations could help create a more standardised measurement and definition of multimorbidity and complex-multiple long term conditions.