{
  "abstract": "Multimorbidity, the co-occurrence of two or more chronic conditions, is a pressing global health challenge. However, research capturing the dynamic, longitudinal nature of health trajectories, particularly the intersection of physical and mental domains, remains scarce compared to traditional cross-sectional “snapshots.” Leveraging up to 21 years of electronic health records data from 858,789 Scottish patients in the University of Dundee Health Informatics Centre, we used multistate modelling to explore how individuals transition from a disease-free baseline into multimorbidity, evaluating how age, sex, and socioeconomic status shape these pathways. Overall transition estimates were driven by the younger demographic of our baseline disease-free cohort. The findings highlight the critical role of severe, hospital-contacting mental health conditions in driving early-onset multimorbidity, particularly in young men and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. These findings underscore the urgent need to prioritise integrated physical-mental care and address upstream structural determinants of health. This temporal approach identifies high-risk populations for targeted early interventions and informs policy initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom",
    "School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom",
    "Division of Population and Behavioural Sciences, School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom",
    "School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Thu Nguyen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Katherine Keenan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Colin McCowan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Michail Papathomas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Areti Manataki"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c9vmf1zhrpn7a.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359871",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "c9vmf1zhrpn7a",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359871",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2713|Chronic Disease Management Strategies"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Health statistics/Morbidity"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Socioeconomic aspects of health"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry"
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry/Mood disorders/Depression"
    ],
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Socioeconomic aspects of health"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups"
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    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Adults/Elderly"
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    [
      "plos",
      "/People and places/Population groupings/Age groups/Adults/Young adults"
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  "openalex": "W7222213788",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0359871&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c9vmf1zhrpn7a.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0359871",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359871"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:epidemiology",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:mental health and psychiatry",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Longitudinal physical-mental multimorbidity trajectories by sociodemographic factors: a cohort study using electronic health records in Scotland (2000–2021)",
  "title_text": "Longitudinal physical-mental multimorbidity trajectories by sociodemographic factors: a cohort study using electronic health records in Scotland (2000–2021)",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/c9vmf1zhrpn7a",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}