The authors reported that participants whose morbidity status changed from baseline to three year follow up (either to single or multimorbidity) had significantly lower physical function at follow up.
Most patient demographic factors remained statistically significant after the inclusion of the block 2 variables with the exceptions of being unemployed and having ≥ two co-morbidities which changed from significant to insignificant, and service sector which changed from insignificant to significant.
Indeed, the outlook has so altered that, with the exception of diseases such as cancer and AIDS, attention has become focused on morbidity rather than mortality, and the emphasis has changed from keeping people alive to keeping them fit.
COPD is a worldwide leading and still increasing cause of chronic morbidity and mortality that will change from the sixth to the third most common cause of death worldwide by 2020, whilst rising from fourth to third in terms of morbidity [ 174].
To emphasize larger morbidity changes, we designated morbidity change if the enrollee moved from "moderate or lower" to a "high" or "very high" morbidity level.
Health impact functions enable the quantification of health outcomes (e.g., ozone-related mortality and morbidity) from changes in population exposure to air pollution.
In the framework of an ecological analysis it is not possible to eliminate changes in malaria morbidity resulting from changes in underlying malaria incidence and prevalence trends caused by vector control or weather, from changes because of diagnostics.
Meanwhile, disease mortality and morbidity have barely changed over the years, other than that which results from early screening programs that support early detection and intervention.
Previous studies have capitalized on natural experiments (Friedman et al. 2001; Pope 1996) or prospectively followed schoolchildren (Avol et al. 2001; McConnell et al. 2003) to demonstrate a lowering of asthma morbidity resulting from changes (reductions) in air pollution.
Aside from the factors mentioned, unemployment and income are examined here as possible mediators in the relationship, as they have been found to be positively associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity [57 62], possibly through changed behavior and consumption patterns.
