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Both dementia and multimorbidity (i.e., ≥2 concurrent chronic diseases) are becoming more prevalent as the population ages. Some cross-sectional and short-term studies have suggested that multimorbidity increases risk for future dementia, particularly if multimorbidity develops in midlife, but long-term studies are lacking.
In the Whitehall II study, researchers enrolled more than 10,000 British civil service employees (age range, 35–55) in 1985 through 1988; participants have been followed continuously with periodic clinical examinations and linkage to national health, mental health, and mortality registries (median follow-up, 32 years). Investigators analyzed data from these sources to determine whether multimorbidity (≥2 of 13 prespecifie…