Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the age-dependent association between new cognitive classification and chronic diseases among middle-aged and older adults using Poisson regression analysis. METHODS: We included 6940 people from the 2018 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. Cognitive status was classified as normal, moderate, and severe based on the participants' Korean Mini-Mental State Examination scores and instrumental activities of daily living. Poisson regression analysis was performed to predict the number of chronic diseases in middle-aged and older adults with grade three cognitive status. The number of predicted events at each cognitive level was calculated according to age. RESULTS: In the normal cognitive group, most of the participants were females 2515 (54.03), and the average age was 66.50 (SD = 8.62). Compared to the normal cognitive group (n = 4665), the incidence of chronic disease in the moderate cognitive impairment group (n = 1316) was 0.07 times that of the normal group, whereas, in the severe cognitive impairment group (n = 420), it was 0.21 times that of the normal group. CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of cognitive impairment and older age were associated with a higher probability of having multiple chronic conditions. The study findings highlight the importance of integrative care with cognitive function and age in managing multiple chronic conditions.