The impact of mental and physical multimorbidity on healthcare utilization and health spending in China: A nationwide longitudinal population-based study

Abstract

Background: In China, little evidence exists on the effect of mental and physical multimorbidity on individuals and the health system. This study aims to examine the prevalence of mental–physical multimorbidity and its impact on health service utilization and health expenditures. Methods: We conducted a panel study using two waves of data (in 2011 and 2015) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, including 10,181 participants aged 45 years and older. Generalized linear regression models were used to assess the association of multimorbidity with total health expenditure and out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on outpatient and inpatient care. Random-effects logistic regression m..