Abstract
Background: India's government is currently running several programs with a sole focus on women's health during their child-bearing years. However, none of these programs incorporate the management of chronic health conditions during the reproductive span. This issue is an emerging public health concern; therefore, the present study aims to identify the patterns and correlates of multimorbidity among women in reproductive age groups in India. Methods: The study utilizes nationally-representative cross-sectional data from the Demographic and Health Survey on 661,811 women in the reproductive age group of 15-49 years. The study uses information on seven chronic morbidities, namely asthma, cancers, heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, hypertension, and thyroid disorder. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable techniques were utilized to accomplish the study objective. Results: The findings show that 17.4 and 3.5 per 100 women of reproductive age suffered from any one morbidity and multimorbidity, respectively. Hypertension, diabetes, and thyroid disorders were commonly occurring morbidities. The prevalence of having any one morbidity or multimorbidity increased with age. Variables like religion, wealth, parity, menopause, consumption of tobacco and alcohol, body mass index, and type of diet were found to be significantly related to the burden of multimorbidity. The prevalence of multimorbidity was found to be higher for women who belong to the Southern, Eastern, and North-Eastern regions of India. Conclusions: Findings suggest the importance of multimorbidity in the context of women of reproductive age. Inclusion of chronic disease management strategies with maternal and child health services needs to be taken into consideration by the program and policymakers. The annexation of social marketing approaches at the primary level of healthcare would assist policy-makers in educating women about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Practicing dietary diversity can help in maintaining optimal estrogen levels, which would further help in decreasing multimorbidity rates among women in India.
Highlights
India's government is currently running several programs with a sole focus on women's health during their childbearing years
The results suggest that 17.6% of the women were 15–19 years of age, 16.3% were 20–24 years of age, 15.8% were 25–29 years of age, 14.3% were 30–34 years of age, 13.5% were 35–39 years of age, 11.6% were 40–44 years of age and 11.1% were 45–49 years of age
Based on the data from the fourth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS), 17.4 per 100 women in the reproductive age group suffered from any one morbidity, whereas 3.5 per 100 women suffered from multimorbidity
Summary
India's government is currently running several programs with a sole focus on women's health during their childbearing years. None of these programs incorporate the management of chronic health conditions during the reproductive span. This issue is an emerging public health concern; the present study aims to identify the patterns and correlates of multimorbidity among women in reproductive age groups in India. Methods: The study utilizes nationally-representative cross-sectional data from the Demographic and Health Survey on 661,811 women in the reproductive age group of 15-49 years. The study uses information on seven chronic morbidities, namely asthma, cancers, heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis, hypertension, and thyroid disorder. The annexation of social marketing approaches at the primary level of healthcare would assist policy-makers in educating version 2
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