We investigated the impact of multiple cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric diseases on all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older adults, considering their functional status.

This cohort study included 3241 participants (aged ≥60 years) in the Swedish National study of Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K). Number of cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric diseases was categorized as 0, 1, or ≥2. Functional impairment was defined as walking speed of <0.8m/s. Death certificates provided information on 3- and 5-year mortality. Hazard ratios (HR) were derived from Cox models (all-cause mortality) and Fine-Gray competing risk models (cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality).

After 3 years, compared with participants with preserved walking speed and without either cardiovascular or neuropsychiatric diseases, the multivariable-adjusted HR (95% confidence interval) of all-cause mortality for people with functional impairment in combination with 0, 1, and ≥2 cardiovascular diseases were 1.88 (1.29-2.74), 3.85 (2.60-5.70), and 5.18 (3.45-7.78), respectively. The corresponding figures for people with 0, 1, and ≥2 neuropsychiatric diseases were, respectively, 2.88 (2.03-4.08), 3.36 (2.31-4.89), and 3.68 (2.43-5.59). Among people with ≥2 cardiovascular or ≥2 neuropsychiatric diseases, those with functional impairment had an excess risk for 3-year all-cause mortality of 18/100 person-years and 17/100 person-years, respectively, than those without functional impairment. At 5 years, the association between the number of cardiovascular diseases and mortality resulted independent of functional impairment.

Functional impairment magnifies the effect of cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric multimorbidity on mortality among older adults. Walking speed appears to be a simple clinical marker for the prognosis of these two patterns of multimorbidity.