[Distribution and epidemic trends of chronic multimorbidity among adult residents in 10 provinces (autonomous regions)of China in 2009-2023].

OBJECTIVE

To describe the prevalence and epidemic trends of several chronic multimorbidy among adult residents in 10 provinces(autonomous regions)of China over the past 14 years, and to analyze their multimorbidity patterns.

METHODS

According to the fasting blood physiological and biochemical tests, physical measurements and questionnaires of 17 000 adult residents aged 18 years and above who were surveyed in 4 rounds of follow-up surveys in 2009, 2015, 2018 and 2023, the relevant indicators and disease history information of obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, and various chronic diseases were obtained. Descriptive analysis was carried out to identify and compare several common combinations of multimorbidity in the population with 2 or more chronic disease conditions and the changing trends of 4 rounds of surveys.

RESULTS

35 712 observations from 17 000 adults revealed that the prevalence of multimorbidity in each round rose from 28.3% in 2009 to 38.9% in 2023, an increase of 10.6 percent. The prevalence of multimorbidity in different gender, age groups, and urban/rural populations showed an upward trend, while the prevalence of multimorbidity in urban and rural populations gradually tended to be the same over time. After grouping various patterns of multimorbidity, it was found that the prevalence of multimorbidity increased over the past 14 years. The main multimorbidity pattern in adults was hypertension combined with dyslipidemia and(or) other chronic disease conditions. The elderly multimorbidity pattern was mainly hypertension combined with dyslipidemia, while young and middle-aged people mainly had dyslipidemia combined with obesity or hyperuricemia.

CONCLUSION

The chronic disease status of the population is mostly combined. There are differences in the multimorbidity patterns of different age groups and genders due to their physiological differences.