ABM to fund multi-disease research

Epidemiology helps us understand how diseases spread among people and how we can control them. Epidemiological studies allow us to assess: causes, prevalence, course, effects, control, including prevention or elimination of diseases and other health phenomena occurring in the human population.

Multimorbidity has become a significant public health problem worldwide. According to the WHO, it is the occurrence of two or more chronic diseases at the same time in one person. The Academy of Medical Sciences has refined the above definition to include physical, non-communicable diseases of long duration, such as cardiovascular disease or cancer, long-term mental disorders such as mood disorders or dementia, or infectious diseases of long duration, such as HIV or hepatitis C. The phenomenon is becoming more prevalent in various population groups due to aging, lifestyle changes, improved socioeconomic conditions and increasingly better diagnostic capabilities. The higher prevalence of multimorbidity leads to higher mortality (1.73 times higher risk of death than in a population without multimorbidity), more frequent use of health care services and higher expenditures by payers, with concomitant poorer health and lower quality of life. It also contributes to a greater burden on the social welfare system and caregivers caring for patients.

Individuals with multimorbidity engage in a complex pattern of self-medication, including monitoring symptoms, changing lifestyles and taking medications as prescribed. Multimorbidity is closely related to multi-medication, and the risk of nonadherence to therapeutic recommendations increases with the number of medications prescribed by doctors. This can lead to exacerbation of the patient's condition, increased risk of other diseases and even death.

The Medical Research Agency will support research that will contribute to a better understanding of the prevalence of multi-disease among Poles.

- The main goal of the competition is to study the prevalence of multimorbidity, assess its impact on the health of the Polish population, evaluate the risk factors present, use tools to model trends, and apply the knowledge gained to improve preventive and diagnostic and therapeutic management, explains Lukasz Bloch, ABM's chief scientific project officer.

Applications can be submitted from May 16, 2023 in the form of an electronic document through the ICT System, available on the Agency's website https://konkurs.abm.gov.pl

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