Abstract
India is witnessing an increase in the prevalence of multimorbidity. Oral health is related to overall health but is seldom included in the assessment of multimorbidity. Hence, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of oral morbidity and explore its association with physical multimorbidity using data from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI). LASI is a nationwide survey amongst adults aged ≥ 45 years conducted in 2018. Descriptive analysis was performed on included participants (n = 59,764) to determine the prevalence of oral morbidity. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the association between oral morbidity and physical multimorbidity. Self-rated health was compared between multimorbid participants with and without oral morbidity. Oral morbidity was prevalent in 48.56% of participants and physical multimorbidity in 50.36%. Those with multimorbidity were at a higher risk of having any oral morbidity (AOR: 1.60 (1.48–1.73)) than those without multimorbidity. Participants who had only oral morbidity rated their health to be good more often than those who had physical multimorbidity and oral morbidity (40.84% vs. 32.98%). Oral morbidity is significantly associated with physical multimorbidity. Multimorbid participants perceived their health to be inferior to those with only oral morbidity. The findings suggest multidisciplinary health teams in primary care should include the management of oral morbidity and physical multimorbidity.
Highlights
This study was based on the data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), Wave-1, a nationwide survey to scientifically investigate health and its social determinants and related economics
2018 following a multistage stratified area probability cluster sampling to identify the unit of observation, i.e., LASI-eligible household (LEH) comprising one or more persons residing in a house with a cooking facility with at least one member aged ≥ 45 years
Using the nationally representative data of India, we found a high prevalence of physical multimorbidity and oral morbidity among older adults
Summary
Projections suggest that the number of adults aged 60 years and above in India will rise to around 319 million by 2050 which will be approximately 20% of the national population [2]. This group has complex social, health, and economic needs which will have a major impact on the already overburdened healthcare delivery system. Oral morbid conditions, such as dental caries and periodontitis, are one of the major public health challenges worldwide amongst disadvantaged people, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) [3]. The ‘Global Burden of Oral Conditions in 1990–2010’, 4.0/)
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