Impact of age and gender differences in the prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in the Thai Cohort Study

Xiyu Feng; Haribondhu Sarma; Sam-Ang Seubsman; Adrian Sleigh; Matthew Kelly

doi:10.1093/inthealth/ihae018

Impact of age and gender differences in the prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in the Thai Cohort Study

Int Health. 2024 Mar 23:ihae018. doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihae018. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiyu Feng¹, Haribondhu Sarma¹, Sam-Ang Seubsman², Adrian Sleigh¹, Matthew Kelly¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Epidemiology, National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, the Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia.
² School of Human Ecology, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Nonthaburi, 11120, Thailand.

PMID: 38520373
DOI: 10.1093/inthealth/ihae018

Abstract

Background: The study aims to identify the common patterns of multimorbidity and their distribution by age and gender.

Method: This cross-sectional study collected self-reported data from 42 785 Thai Cohort Study members through mailed questionnaires. Employing prevalence-based analysis, it identified common multimorbidity (coexistence of two or more chronic conditions) patterns, analysing the three most common patterns stratified by age and sex. P for trend (p-trend) was used to test the linear trend for associations between age and prevalence of these chronic conditions in the multimorbidity patterns.

Results: Chronic conditions with the highest prevalence were related to metabolic syndromes: obesity (28.5%), hyperlipidaemia (13.2%) and hypertension (7.2%). A positive linear age-multimorbidity association was observed (p-trend = 0.0111). The 60+ participants averaged 1.20 diseases, with 33.7% multimorbidity prevalence. Hyperlipidaemia + obesity was most prevalent in the under-40 multimorbid group (38.7%). Men exhibited a higher prevalence of multimorbidity and associated patterns involving hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and obesity than women.

Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome components were the prominent factors driving multimorbidity. Significant age and gender differences were also revealed in multimorbidity prevalence. People aged 60+ faced high risk of multimorbidity, while younger individuals tended towards the multimorbidity pattern of obesity and hyperlipidaemia. Men were more susceptible to multimorbidity patterns associated with metabolic syndromes. Future studies for metabolic-related multimorbidity should consider these differences, addressing age and gender issues.

Keywords: Age; chronic conditions; gender; multimorbidity.