This "compression of morbidity", where chronic illness and disability are squeezed into ever-shorter periods at the end of life, is a recent trend among ageing populations.
The frail elderly often suffer from a combination of multiple chronic diseases that jointly produce disability and predispose them to vulnerability in the face of acute illness.
老年人身体衰弱，往往患有多种慢性病，从而导致残疾，并且极易受急性病患的侵害。
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Chronic pain can exacerbate or prolong the function disability of the patients.