SynthesisBMJ open2022
Multimorbidity of non-communicable diseases in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 121 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 210 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and Experiences of Self-Management Interventions in Adults With Multiple Long-Term Conditions: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Pooled it
- Capacity building models for managing multiple long-term conditions in low-and-middle-income countries: a systematic review and gap analysis.Human resources for health · 2025Pooled it
- Determinants of multimorbidity in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of longitudinal studies and discovery of evidence gaps.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of Multimorbidity in the Middle East: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Variation in the estimated prevalence of multimorbidity: systematic review and meta-analysis of 193 international studies.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Multiple chronic conditions and intrinsic capacity among middle-aged and older adults: Evidence from CHARLS.Medicine · 2026Article
- Behavioral and Clinical Correlates of Poor Sleep and Anxiety Symptoms in Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Health Literacy and Chronic Disease Self-Efficacy Among Older Adults with Multimorbidity: Evidence from Low-Resource Context.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- A digital marker for stratifying cardiovascular metabolic comorbidities among the middle-aged and elderly adults.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Clarity in Reporting Multiple Long-Term Conditions in Research: The Need for Consistency and Consensus.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Multimorbidity burden is associated with lower perceived health and life satisfaction in urban South Africa.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A scoping review of global approaches to education in adult critical care retrieval.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2026Article
- Integrating meaningful involvement of people living with non-communicable diseases in India's National NCD Programme: lessons learnt and opportunities for global, regional and national contextualisation and adoption.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Article
- Changes in prevalence and patterns of non-communicable disease multimorbidity across socioeconomic spectra in rural Southwest China.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- The structural roots of multimorbidity: social inequalities, health disparities, and systemic challenges in Southern Spain.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Impact of multimorbidity on change in quality of life in a multi-ethnic Asian population: a longitudinal study.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2026Article
- Adult Women's Height and Non-Communicable Disease Risk in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys.Health science reports · 2026Article
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionMultimorbidity is a major public health challenge, with a rising prevalence in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). This review aims to systematically synthesise evidence on the prevalence, patterns and factors associated with multimorbidity of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among adults residing in LMICs.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles reporting prevalence, determinants, patterns of multimorbidity of NCDs among adults aged >18 years in LMICs. For the PROSPERO registered review, we searched PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane libraries for articles published from 2009 till 30 May 2020. Studies were included if they reported original research on multimorbidity of NCDs among adults in LMICs.
resultsThe systematic search yielded 3272 articles; 39 articles were included, with a total of 1 220 309 participants. Most studies used self-reported data from health surveys. There was a large variation in the prevalence of multimorbidity; 0.7%-81.3% with a pooled prevalence of 36.4% (95% CI 32.2% to 40.6%). Prevalence of multimorbidity increased with age, and random effect meta-analyses showed that female sex, OR (95% CI): 1.48, 1.33 to 1.64, being well-off, 1.35 (1.02 to 1.80), and urban residence, 1.10 (1.01 to 1.20), respectively were associated with higher odds of NCD multimorbidity. The most common multimorbidity patterns included cardiometabolic and cardiorespiratory conditions.
conclusionMultimorbidity of NCDs is an important problem in LMICs with higher prevalence among the aged, women, people who are well-off and urban dwellers. There is the need for longitudinal data to access the true direction of multimorbidity and its determinants, establish causation and identify how trends and patterns change over time. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019133453.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.