Prevalence and Patterns of Comorbidity Among Middle-Aged and Elderly People in China: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on CHARLS Data

Abstract

Introduction: Under the background of the accelerated aging of the population, comorbidity in the elderly has gradually become a social problem. At present, the related studies on chronic diseases are mainly focused on a single disease. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of common chronic diseases, the conditions and patterns of comorbidity in middle-aged and elderly people in China. Methods: We extracted the data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A total of 14 diseases were included, and the prevalence was assessed by selfreport. We calculate different disease combinations and perform descriptive statistics analysis of chronic disease and comorbidity status. Results: Among the 6754 subjects, 2833 (42.0%) people had at least one chronic disease, and 1138 (17.0%) people had two or more diseases at the same time. The top three diseases of prevalence were hypertension (15.4%), arthritis or rheumatism (11.0%), and stomach or digestive diseases (9.3%). Common dual disease combinations were hypertension and dyslipidemia, hypertension and arthritis or rheumatism, arthritis or rheumatism and stomach or digestive diseases. Conclusion:Comorbidity is common in the population, and the pattern of chronic disease comorbidity is complex. Hypertension exists in a variety of comorbidity patterns, and its screening and prevention should be strengthened.

Effect of Physical Activity, Smoking, and Sleep on Telomere Length: A Systematic Review of Observational and Intervention Studies

“…In the selected studies on TL, PA was the most studied lifestyle factor, followed by smoking and sleep. In general, being physical active, not smoking and having good sleep quality are associated with a reduced risk of morbimortality for the main chronic diseases [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 ]. There is a challenge in searching for the best biomarker of aging and despite these limitations and the advantage of measuring a combination of biomarkers instead of only one [ 148 , 149 ], TL is the most extensively studied biomarker of age-related diseases [ 7 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”

“…Life expectancy has increased in recent decades, and it is expected to rise in the coming years [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Therefore, there is a higher probability of suffering from diseases related to an aging population, such as cardiovascular diseases [ 1 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], diabetes [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], hypertension [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], cancer [ 7 , 13 ], and neurological diseases [ 7 , 14 ]. Owing to the social, psychological, and economic conditions associated with aging, this has now become one of the major issues facing public health [ 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Identifying patterns of clinical conditions among high-cost older adult health care users using claims data: a latent class approach

“…From 2015 to 2020, the total incidence of cancer in China increased from 3.9 million to 4.6 million [ 26 ]. The top two diseases of prevalence among middle-aged and elderly people in China were hypertension, arthritis or rheumatism [ 27 ]. Such disease profiles may be partly due to the rapid socioeconomic development and urbanization in China in the past decades [ 26 , 28 ].…”

Functioning, disability and exercise in the elderly

“…Comorbidities can be associated with the aging process itself, due to increased life expectancy and, therefore, prolonged exposure to numerous risk factors [13]. So far, numerous comorbidities have been described, some of them being cardiovascular diseases (including hypertension, heart failure, stable angina, and other cardiovascular conditions), diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoarthritis, delirium, sensory impairment, and other diseases and conditions [13,14]. In their study, Fan et al state that the two most frequent conditions present at the same time are hypertension and dyslipidemia, while the three most frequent conditions present simultaneously are hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes [14].…”

“…Komorbiditeti mogu biti povezani sa samim procesom starenja, usled produženog očekivanog trajanja života i, usled toga, produženog izlaganja brojnim faktorima rizika [13]. Do sada su opisani brojni komorbiditeti, u koje spadaju kardio-vaskularna oboljenja (uključujući hipertenziju, srčanu insuficijenciju, stabilnu anginu pektoris, i druga kardio-vaskularna oboljenja), dijabetes, hronična opstruktivna bolest pluća (HOBP), osteoartritis, delirijum, slabljenje čula, te druga oboljenja i stanja [13,14]. U svojoj studiji, Fan i saradnici navode da su dva najčešće istovremeno prisutna stanja hipertenzija i dislipidemija, dok su tri stanja najčešće prisutna u isto vreme hipertenzija, dislipidemija i dijabetes [14].…”