• Yuxia Zhang, Liang Zhou, Siyuan Liu, Yanan Qiao, Ying Wu, Chaofu Ke, and Yueping Shen.
• Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Medical College of Soochow University, 199 Renai Road, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
• Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2020 Sep 1; 90: 104135.

BackgroundThe multimorbidity associated with ageing has been prevalent worldwide and poses major challenges to the health care system. However, the research about multimorbidity in China is far from sufficient. Additionally, international studies on the influencing factors of multimorbidity and the impact on disability/mortality are still inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence, correlates and outcomes of multimorbidity among the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population.MethodsWe used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Logistic regression was performed to analyze the influencing factors of multimorbidity. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate the impact of multimorbidity on functional disability and all-cause mortality.ResultsThe prevalence of multimorbidity was 55.12 % in the whole study population and 65.60 % among people aged ≥ 65 years. Multimorbidity was significantly associated with old age (OR: 2.76, 95 % CI: 2.31-3.30), females (OR: 1.21, 95 % CI: 1.01-1.44), ex-smoker (OR: 2.07, 95 % CI: 1.58-2.72), ex-drinker (OR: 2.18, 95 % CI: 1.66-2.87), obesity (OR: 2.87, 95 % CI: 2.30-3.57), lower education (OR:1.32, 95 % CI: 1.08-1.61), living alone (OR: 1.26, 95 % CI: 1.02-1.55) and unemployment (OR: 1.66, 95 % CI: 1.11-2.48). Moreover, multimorbidity was correlated with disability (HR: 2.27, 95 % CI: 1.93-2.66) and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.95, 95 % CI: 1.36-2.80) after multivariable adjustment.ConclusionsMultimorbidity is highly prevalent in China and possesses significantly negative effects on health outcomes. Identification of the key population and tailored interventions on their modifiable risk factors should be paid much importance.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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