NZ’s hidden chronic health burden is even bigger than we thought – new analysis
New research reveals a major gap in how chronic illness is measured, with implications for planning and funding healthcare in New Zealand.
In New Zealand, chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma are common, with over 80% of healthcare costs spent on managing these long-term conditions. However, hospital records used for health planning and funding often fail to capture the full extent of multimorbidity – the presence of two or more long-term conditions in a patient.
Our research, examining health records of 374,071 adults in Auckland, found that only 14% of adults had two or more long-term conditions when relying solely on hospital records. But when GP records were included, that figure rose to 31%, identifying an additional 62,453 people with multimorbidity. Women are disproportionately affected, with older age groups experiencing the highest prevalence, with nearly 80% of those aged 75-84 living with multiple long-term conditions.
Hospital records miss this care due to the primary management of these conditions by GPs in the community, often without hospital admission. Managing multiple conditions simultaneously requires careful consideration of treatments, potential interactions, and side effects. This unaccounted-for community care highlights the need for integrated national records, better understanding of resource demands, and a response to the impending GP shortage.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
