General practice and associated health conditions in patients aged 65 years or over.

Abstract

We aimed at identifying associations of health conditions addressed during general practice consultations involving patients aged 65 years or over, according to sex. This is an ancillary study of the ECOGEN study on the consultation practices of French general practitioners. We studied the 15 most frequent health issues addressed in patients aged 65 years or over and identified the pairs most frequently and strongly associated. The sample included 5,782 consultations corresponding to 17,182 health issues addressed. Each consultation involved an average of 3.0 [2.9-3.0] health issues. The strongest associations mainly included cardio-metabolic conditions. The most frequent and strong pair (OR: 3.8 [3.3-4.4]) associated non-complicated arterial hypertension with a lipid disorder. Some associations were specific to the patient's sex. Significant associations identified may improve the management of elderly patients with multiple morbidities by encouraging synergic treatments.