Prevalence of chronic disease comorbidity among the elderly population in Jiangsu province, 2021: a cross-sectional survey

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of chronic disease comorbidity among the elderly population in Jiangsu province to provide evidence for the development of chronic disease management strategies. MethodsA face-to-face survey was conducted among 21 344 residents aged ≥ 65 years recruited using stratified multistage cluster sampling from June to December 2021 in 12 districts/counties of six prefectures in Jiangsu province. A self-designed questionnaire and a brief cognitive impairment rating scale (Cog-12) developed by Chinese researchers were used in the survey. We analyzed the prevalence, prevalent types, and association rules of chronic comorbidity in the province's elderly population. ResultsOf the 20 724 participants with valid responses, 9 759 (47.1%) were identified as having a chronic comorbidity. Of the observed cases of comorbidity, 3 947 (40.4%), 2 731 (28.0%), and 3 081 (31.6%) had two, three, and four or more chronic conditions, respectively. The top three binary chronic disease comorbidity pa