Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-11-2024
Abstract
India is a large middle-income country and has surpassed China in overall population, comprising 20% of the global population (over 1.43 billion people). India is experiencing a major demographic shift in its aging population. Chronic diseases are common among older adults and can be persistent over the life course, lead to the onset of disability, and be costly. Among older adults in India, the existence of multiple comorbid chronic conditions (i.e., multimorbidity) is rapidly growing and represents a burgeoning public health burden. Prior research identified greater rates of multimorbidity (e.g., overweight/obesity diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and malignancies) in minority populations in the United States (U.S.); however, limited studies have attempted to characterize multimorbidity among older adult sub-populations residing in India. To address this gap, we conducted a narrative review of studies on multimorbidity using the data from the Longitudinal Aging Study of India (LASI), the largest nationally representative longitudinal survey study of adults in India. Our definition of multimorbidity was the presence of more than two conditions in the same person. Our findings, based on 15 reviewed studies, aim to (1) characterize the definition and measurement of multimorbidity and to ascertain its prevalence in ethnically and culturally diverse sub-populations in India; (2) identify adverse outcomes associated with multimorbidity in the Indian adult population; and (3) identify gaps, opportunities, and future directions.
Recommended Citation
Zanwar, Preeti; Taylor, Robyn; Hill-Jarrett, Tanisha; Tsoy, Elena; Flatt, Jason; Mirza, Zunera; Hill, Carl; and Perianayagam, Arokiasamy, "Characterizing Multimorbidity Prevalence and Adverse Outcomes in Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Sub-Populations in India: Gaps, Opportunities, and Future Directions" (2024). College of Population Health Faculty Papers. Paper 193.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/healthpolicyfaculty/193
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 21, Issue 3, March 2024 , Article number 327.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21030327.
Copyright © 2024 by the authors