Objectives Multimorbidity is common among older adults from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Social participation has a role in protecting against negative health consequences, yet its association with multimorbidity is unclear, particularly in LMICs. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between physical multimorbidity and social participation among older adults across 6 LMICs. Method Cross-sectional, community-based data including adults aged 65 years and older from 6 LMICs were analyzed from the WHO Study on Global AGEing and adult health survey. The association between 11 individual chronic conditions or the number of chronic conditions (independent variable) and social participation (range 0–10 with higher scores indicating greater social participation; dependent variable) was assessed by multivariable linear regression analysis. Results 14,585 individuals (mean age 72.6 [SD 11.5] years; 54.9% females) were included. Among individual conditions, hearing problems, visual impairment, and stroke were significantly associated with lower levels of social participation. Overall, an increasing number of chronic conditions was dose-dependently associated with lower levels of social participation (e.g., ≥4 vs 0 conditions: β = −0.26 [95% CI = −0.39, −0.13]). The association was more pronounced among males than females. Discussion Older people with multimorbidity had lower levels of social participation in LMICs. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to further investigate temporal associations, and whether addressing social participation can lead to better health outcomes among older people with multimorbidity in LMICs.

中文翻译：

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六个低收入和中等收入国家 65 岁及以上成年人的身体多重病和社会参与


目标 多种疾病在低收入和中等收入国家 (LMIC) 的老年人中很常见。社会参与在防止负面健康后果方面发挥着作用，但其与多种疾病的关系尚不清楚，特别是在中低收入国家。因此，本研究调查了 6 个中低收入国家老年人的身体多病与社会参与之间的关系。方法 根据世界卫生组织全球老龄化和成人健康调查研究，分析了来自 6 个中低收入国家的 65 岁及以上成年人的横断面社区数据。通过多元线性回归分析评估 11 种慢性病或慢性病数量（自变量）与社会参与（范围 0-10，分数越高表明社会参与程度越高；因变量）之间的关联。结果 纳入 14,585 名个体（平均年龄 72.6 [SD 11.5] 岁；54.9% 为女性）。在个人情况中，听力问题、视力障碍和中风与较低的社会参与水平显着相关。总体而言，越来越多的慢性病与较低的社会参与水平呈剂量依赖性相关（例如，≥4 与 0 种疾病：β = -0.26 [95% CI = -0.39, -0.13]）。这种关联在男性中比在女性中更为明显。讨论 患有多种疾病的老年人在中低收入国家的社会参与水平较低。未来的纵向研究有必要进一步调查时间关联，以及解决社会参与是否可以为中低收入国家患有多种疾病的老年人带来更好的健康结果。