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Socioeconomic variation of multimorbidity in Colombian older adults

Silvia Marcela Ballesteros1, José Moreno-Montoya2, Wilhelmus Johannes Andreas Grooten3,4

  • 1Clinical Studies and Clinical Epidemiology Division, Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Calle 119 A 7-49, Bogotá, Colombia. smballesterosr@gmail.com.

Scientific Reports
|November 24, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Multimorbidity in older adults is linked to poverty and infectious disease mortality, particularly in low-middle income countries. Understanding these socioeconomic factors is crucial for effective public health strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Global rise in multimorbidity (MM) among older adults necessitates understanding socioeconomic influences.
  • Research gaps exist in linking infectious diseases, socioeconomic factors, and MM, especially in low-middle income settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how multimorbidity varies with infectious disease mortality, adjusting for socioeconomic factors.
  • To analyze individual and contextual socioeconomic determinants of multimorbidity in Colombian older adults.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional, multilevel study of 17,571 Colombian adults aged 60+.
  • Structural equation modeling used to adjust for individual and group-level variables.
  • Included socioeconomic, demographic, health, multidimensional poverty index, and infectious disease mortality rate data.

Main Results:

  • Multimorbidity prevalence was 62.3% in the study sample.
  • Factors associated with MM included age, female sex, functional limitations, non-white ethnicity, high BMI, higher income, inactivity, and urban living.
  • Significant associations found between MM and multidimensional poverty (median OR 1.18) and infectious disease mortality (median OR 1.25).

Conclusions:

  • Multimorbidity prevalence varies with infectious disease mortality and is strongly associated with poverty in a low-middle income country.
  • Differences in MM etiology are expected between high-income and low-middle income countries due to healthcare resource disparities.
  • Findings highlight the need to consider socioeconomic context in multimorbidity research and interventions.

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