In older patients with multiple diseases, with every additional chronic disease the risk of death increases by 36%

Physical measurements (Blood pressure) being recorded of participants taking part in the study. CREDIT Agilemktg1 from flickr

Multimorbidity, or the presence of two or more chronic diseases in an individual, is a complication that increases in prevalence with age. Several studies from western countries have indicated a relationship between specific multimorbidity patterns and mortality risk. But there hasn’t been any study of this kind reported in the Chinese population.

A new study published (available online on Feb 21, 2022) in Chinese Medical Journal aimed to address this gap, by identifying the multimorbidity patterns and assessing their relationship with mortality risk in middle-aged and older Chinese individuals.

To do this, 512,723 participants, aged 30-79, were selected using the China Kadoorie Biobank. The relevant data was collected using questionnaire survey, physical measurements and blood test. These participants were observed over a 10-year period and the collated information was subjected to statistical analysis.

The study showed that 81,084 out of the 512,723 participants had multimorbidity. The risk of multimorbidity increased in older participants residing in urban areas. Dr. Jun Lyu, the corresponding author of the study, reports, “we observed four multimorbidity patterns: cardiometabolic, respiratory, gastrointestinal and hepatorenal, and mental and arthritis, with cardiometabolic being the most common multimorbidity observed in this population.” During the study period, 49,371 participants passed away. Individuals with cardiometabolic or respiratory multimorbidity had an increased mortality risk as compared to the ones without any chronic condition. In participants who had two or more multimorbidity patterns, mortality risk increased two-fold.

This study showed that the risk of death increases in participants with multimorbidity. Signifying the importance of these findings corresponding author Dr. Jun Lyu says, “The essence of the hour is to prevent multimorbidity by focusing on common risk factors.” Along with prevention, better clinical guidelines and effective management of multimorbid patients is required.  In the long term, research should focus on understanding the mechanisms of co-occurring multiple chronic diseases. Hopefully, these measures will increase the longevity of our elderly population.