AUTHOR=Wang Huiyao , Xia Qian , Dong Zaiquan , Guo Wanjun , Deng Wei , Zhang Lan , Kuang Weihong , Li Tao TITLE=Emotional distress and multimorbidity patterns in Chinese Han patients with osteoporosis: a network analysis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=11 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1242091 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1242091 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=

With the aging of the population, the prevalence of osteoporosis and multimorbidity is increasing. Patients with osteoporosis often experience varying levels of emotional distress, including anxiety and depression. However, few studies have explored the patterns of multiple conditions and their impact on patients’ emotional distress. Here, we conducted a network analysis to explore the patterns of multimorbidities and their impact on emotional distress in 13,359 Chinese Han patients with osteoporosis. The results showed that multimorbidity was prevalent in Chinese patients with osteoporosis and increased with age, and was more frequent in males than in females, with the most common pattern of multimorbidity being osteoporosis and essential (primary) hypertension. Finally, we found that patients’ emotional distress increased with the number of multimorbidities, especially in female patients, and identified eight multimorbidities with high correlation to patients’ emotional distress.