{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T23:06:51Z","timestamp":1790723211604,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]],"date-time":"2024-05-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1716508800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation Republic of Serbia","award":["200110"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["200110"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Due to their high frequency, common risk factors, and similar pathogenic mechanisms, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are more likely to occur with other chronic illnesses, making them a \u201ccomponent disorder\u201c of multimorbidity. Our objective was to assess the prevalence of multimorbidity and to identify the most common clusters of diagnosis within multimorbidity states, with the primary hypothesis that the most common clusters of multimorbidity are MSDs. Methods: The current study employed data from a population-based 2019 European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). Multimorbidity was defined as a \u22652 diagnosis from the list of 17 chronic non-communicable diseases, and to define clusters, the statistical method of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was performed. Results: Out of 13,178 respondents, multimorbidity was present among 4398 (33.4%). The HCA method yielded six multimorbidity clusters representing the most common diagnoses. The primary multimorbidity cluster, which was prevalent among both genders, age groups, incomes per capita, and statistical regions, consisted of three diagnoses: (1) lower spine deformity or other chronic back problem (back pain), (2) cervical deformity or other chronic problem with the cervical spine, and (3) osteoarthritis. Conclusions: Given the influence of musculoskeletal disorders on multimorbidity, it is imperative to implement appropriate measures to assist patients in relieving the physical discomfort and pain they endure. Public health information, programs, and campaigns should be utilized to promote a healthy lifestyle. Policymakers should prioritize the prevention of MSDs by encouraging increased physical activity and a healthy diet, as well as focusing on improving functional abilities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13113089","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]],"date-time":"2024-05-24T11:17:52Z","timestamp":1716549472000},"page":"3089","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Musculoskeletal Diseases as the Most Prevalent Component of Multimorbidity: A Population-Based Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8509-0329","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nina","family":"Rajovic","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0010-0971","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Slavisa","family":"Zagorac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7542-5690","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andja","family":"Cirkovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6372-3298","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bojana","family":"Matejic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5903-0878","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danilo","family":"Jeremic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Institute for Orthopedic Surgery \u201cBanjica\u201d, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Radica","family":"Tasic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical School, College of Vocational Studies, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jelena","family":"Cumic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8852-2054","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Srdjan","family":"Masic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Primary Health Care and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine Foca, University of East Sarajevo, 71123 East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jovana","family":"Grupkovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vekoslav","family":"Mitrovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Neurology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Foca, University of East Sarajevo, 71123 East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natasa","family":"Milic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9433-1446","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Boris","family":"Gluscevic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Institute for Orthopedic Surgery \u201cBanjica\u201d, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)60240-2","article-title":"Epidemiology of multimorbidity and implications for health care, research, and medical education: A cross-sectional study","volume":"380","author":"Barnett","year":"2012","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"(2024, April 15). 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