Persistence of Multimorbidity Among Women Aged 15–49 Years in India: An Analysis of Prevalence, Patterns and Correlation

Abstract

Objectives: The present study has examined the patterns and possible correlates of coexisting morbidities among women aged 15–49 years based on biomarker measurement data at the national level in India.Methods: National Family Health Survey conducted during 2015–16 used in the present study. Simple disease count approach was used to calculate the multimorbidity among women. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to analyze the predictors of multimorbidity among women.Results: Almost 30% of the women had any of the selected morbidity and 9% of them had two or more morbidities. Hypertension and overweight combination (3%) was the most prevalent among women. The risk of having two or more morbidities was predominantly high among women aged above 30 years, low educated women, women from the wealthier group, ever-married women and women who were consuming tobacco as compared to their counterparts.Conclusions: From the policy perspective, the identification of groups of women vulnerable to multimorbidity will help in the selection of programmatic focus and preventive public health intervention in adult phase to reduce the multimorbidity burden among women in old ages.

A combination of moderate and vigorous physical activities reduces the burden of multimorbidity: findings from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India

“…However, after controlling for all other socioeconomic and demographic factors, no substantial caste difference in multimorbidity exists between rural and urban areas. Contrary to the other studies [29,[39][40][41], the present study shows that multimorbidity increases with an increase in education.…”

Prevalence, pattern, and correlates of multimorbidity among adult and old aged women in India

“…But a cross-sectional study conducted in India reiterated caste as another social background characteristic to be significantly associated with multimorbidity. 18 Likewise, Puri et al ( 2021) study found that religion was related to multimorbidity. 17 We further found that alcohol (2015) study reveal that adults living in rural areas have a higher risk of multimorbidity than those living in urban areas.…”

“…We have considered socio-economic and demographic backgrounds characteristics in this study. The predictors that were considered in this analysis are age (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49), 50-59, 60-69, 70 years and above), marital status (never married, currently married/cohabiting, divorced/ separated/widowed), level of education (no formal education/less than primary/primary/secondary/higher secondary and above), place of residence (rural/urban), caste (Scheduled Tribes-ST/Scheduled Castes-SC/Other Backward Classes-OBC/Others), religion (Hindu/Muslim/ Others) of the respondents. Behavioral characteristics include alcohol consumption, physical activity, perceived loneliness, quality of life, and self-rated health.…”

“…13 To the best of our knowledge, most studies on multimorbidity in India and other countries were carried out on particular age groups, such as young middle-aged, older age group, women in reproductive age and overall age group. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Despite those research, the gender-based study on multimorbidity using large-scale data focusing on both adult and older women altogether is very limited in the Indian context and other countries. Against this backdrop, the study seeks to assess the prevalence and correlates of multimorbidity across women's adult and old age groups in India.…”

Chronic non-communicable disease burden among reproductive-age women in India: evidence from recent demographic and health survey

“…However, reporting some rise in life expectancy per decade does not necessarily indicate improved health scenario among women [ 4 ]. About 30% of the women had at least one chronic morbidity in India, and 9% had two or more morbidities [ 17 ]. When paired with reproductive and biological changes during childbearing ages, multimorbidity can lead to a declined quality of life and well-being [ 1 , 6 ].…”