Prevalence, patterns of multimorbidity, and its correlations with health-related quality of life in rural southwest China: a cross-sectional study

作者：Na Xie, Huali Xiong, Xin Jiang · 发表于：Frontiers in Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fmed.2025.1609831 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Chronic Disease Management Strategies、Healthcare Systems and Reforms、Primary Care and Health Outcomes

Background The prevalence, patterns, and impact of multimorbidity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remain inadequately understood among rural populations in southwest China. This study seeks to fill this knowledge gap by systematically examining these aspects. Methods Participants were recruited from the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) study. Incident cases of 13 chronic conditions were documented. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions in an individual. Principal component factor analysis (PCFA) was performed to identify patterns of multimorbidity. Tobit regression analysis and restricted cubic spline were employed to assess the correlation between multimorbidity patterns and HRQoL. Results A total of 2,998 participants were enrolled, with a mean age of 50.65 years (SD = 11.99). The prevalence of multimorbidity was 48.50%. Four multimorbidity patterns were identified by PCFA: circulatory system pattern, digestive system pattern, metabolic syndrome pattern, and hepatobiliary system pattern. All four patterns were negatively correlated with HRQoL, as demonstrated by tobit regression analysis ( β = −0.024, β = −0.020, β = −0.007, β = −0.018; all p < 0.001). Restricted cubic spline also demonstrated the negative correlation between different multimorbidity patterns and HRQoL, after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Subgroup analysis in different gender, age, and average yearly family total income also demonstrated...