Multimorbidity and its associated risk factors among older adults in India

Abstract

Background Health at older ages is a key public health challenge especially among the developing countries. Older adults are at greater risk of vulnerability due to their physical and functional health risks. With rapidly rising ageing population and increasing burden of non-communicable diseases older adults in India are at a greater risk for multimorbidities. Therefore, to understand this multimorbidity transition and its determinants we used a sample of older Indian adults to examine multimorbidity and its associated risk factors among the Indian older-adults aged 45 and above. Methods Using the sample of 72,250 older adults, this study employed the multiple regression analysis to study the risk factors of multimorbidity. Multimorbidity was computed based on the assumption of older-adults having one or more than one disease risks. Results Our results confirm the emerging diseases burden among the older adults in India. One of the significant findings of the study was the contrasting prevalence of multimorbidity among the wealthiest groups (AOR = 1.932; 95% CI = 1.824- 2.032). Similarly women were more likely to have a multimorbidity (AOR = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.282—1.401) as compared to men among the older adults in India. Conclusion Our results confirm an immediate need for proper policy measures and health system strengthening to ensure the better health of older adults in India.

Patterns of multimorbidity among a community-based cohort in rural India

“…22 Khan et al determined that 83% of the older adults (age 60 years and above) in Punjab had multimorbidity. 17 Similarly, in China, Wang et al. reported that 90.5% of the rural elderly population has multimorbidity.…”

“…22 Khan et al determined that 83% of the older adults (age 60 years and above) in Punjab had multimorbidity. 17 Similarly, in China, Wang et al reported that 90.5% of the rural elderly population has multimorbidity. 32 Aging and the presence of chronic conditions are shown to increase the occurrence of multimorbidity.…”

“…[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The wide gap in prevalence is due to inconsistencies in defining multimorbidity, different permutations of included morbidities, or an overestimation of prevalence due to the inclusion of self-reported morbidities. Most studies have focused on the elderly population, [15][16][17][18] were conducted in health facilities, 19,20 studied urban populations, 21 or explored multimorbidity amongst patients with non-communicable diseases. 15,22 Few studies have explored the prevalence and correlation of multimorbidity amongst the rural population.…”

Socio-economic and demographic determinants of all-cause, main-cause and sub-cause mortality among 45+ adults: Evidence from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India

“…As medical conditions improve, NCDs will be effectively treated, thus the mortality would be reduced. Meanwhile, recent studies have found that rapid urbanization in India is causing a shift in lifestyle among urban residence, with poor dietary habits mainly depending on fast-or junk food and also lower participation in the physical activity leading to higher prevalence of chronic morbidities among older adults Chauhan, Srivastava, et al, 2022;Khan et al, 2022). Hence, our finding revealed that 45+ adults belonging to urban residences have greater odds of NCD & CVD-related mortality risks than rural.…”

Mortality Trends due to Falls in the Group of People in Early (65–74 Years) and Late (75+) Old Age in Poland in the Years 2000–2020

“…Internal diseases are their main health problems. In addition, a characteristic feature of old age is progressive multimorbidity, i.e., coexistence of several chronic diseases [ 2 ]. For the purpose of assessing this phenomenon, the concept of the so-called “major geriatric problems”, defined as “chronic disorders that gradually lead to functional incapacity and thus negatively affect the quality of life of older patients”, was introduced into modern gerontology [ 3 ].…”