Over 60 percent of Estonian adults have at least one chronic illness
More than 60 percent of Estonian adults are living with at least one chronic illness, with many developing multiple long-term conditions before age 65, a new study found.
The population-based University of Tartu study, the most comprehensive of its kind in Estonia, found that 42 percent of adults are living with at least two comorbid chronic illnesses. Nearly half of those with multiple chronic conditions are of working age.
Angela Kannukene, an internal medicine physician and junior research fellow in internal medicine at the University of Tartu, said the findings challenge the common perception that multimorbidity is mainly an issue for the very old.
"Nearly half of patients with multimorbidity are younger than 65," she said, adding that this makes both prevention and earlier intervention and treatment of chronic illnesses key for both people's health and the long-term sustainability of Estonia's healthcare system.
Researchers found that healthcare use rose steadily with each additional chronic illness, resulting in more outpatient visits, emergency care, hospitalizations and prescription medications.
People living with 10 or more chronic conditions further faced more than three times the five-year mortality risk of peers with one or no chronic illnesses, and were also two to three times more likely to experience treatment- or procedure-related complications.
The study found overall rates of chronic disease have remained relatively stable in recent years, although obesity diagnoses have increased. Researchers, however, said this rise may reflect improved diagnosis and documentation alongside broader access to new obesity treatments.
The findings are based on EST-Health-30, a new research database combining electronic health records, prescription data, Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF) claims and cancer and mortality registers for a randomly selected sample of about 510,000 people — or roughly 30 percent of the country's population.
University health informatics research fellow Sulev Reisberg said the database provides the first opportunity to track chronic disease across such a large share of the population over time.
He noted that this kind of research infrastructure "will create a foundation for many new studies and help drive more evidence-based decision-making in healthcare."
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Editor: Johannes Peetsalu, Aili Vahtla
