Living with a cardiometabolic condition such as heart disease, stroke, or diabetes is difficult, but having two or all three of these conditions (cardiometabolic multimorbidity) comes with an exponential increase in the risk of premature death. Researcher Dr Brodie Sakakibara, who is affiliated with the Rehabilitation Research Program at the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, sought to discover possible connections between lifestyle and the development of cardiometabolic multimorbidity. Ultimately, individuals with little-to-no physical activity and high stress levels have greater odds of acquiring two or three cardiometabolic conditions.

The research is published in BMC Public Health and highlights the critical need to better understand how individuals progress from having one to two or all three conditions and how to prevent such a decline in health.

The study, “The prevalence of cardiometabolic multimorbidity and its association with physical activity, diet, and stress in Canada: Evidence from a population-based cross-sectional study,” is available online at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-019-7682-4 [9].