Healthcare 2023, 11, 1906. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11131906 www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare
Article
The Multimorbidity and Lifestyle Correlates in Chinese
Population Residing in Macau: Findings from a
Community-Based Needs Assessment Study
Qingling Yang
1
, Quanzhi Zhang
1,2
, Fei Wan Ngai
1
, Shaoling Wang
1
, Dexing Zhang
3
, Yang Gao
4
, Chun Hao
5
,
Harry Haoxiang Wang
5,6
, Oi Ching Bernice Lam Nogueira
7
, Ming Liu
7
, Alex Molasiotis
8
, Alice Loke
1
and Yaojie Xie
1,
*
1
School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
2
School of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150088, China
3
The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong SAR, China
4
Department of Sport, Physical Education, and Health, Hong Kong Baptist University,
Hong Kong SAR, China
5
School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
6
College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
7
School of Health Sciences and Sports, Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao 999078, China
8
Health and Social Care Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UK
* Correspondence: grace.yj.xie@polyu.edu.hk; Tel.: +852-63135399
Abstract: Multimorbidity has become one of the most pressing public health concerns worldwide.
The objectives of this study were to understand the prevalence of multimorbidity and its relation-
ship with lifestyle factors among Chinese adults in Macau, and to investigate the combined contri-
bution of common lifestyle factors in predicting multimorbidity. Data were collected through face-
to-face interviews using a self-reported questionnaire on common chronic diseases, lifestyle factors
and sociodemographics. BMI, physical activity, drinking status, smoking status and sleep quality
were assessed, and a composite lifestyle score (0 to 9 points) was calculated, and the higher the
score, the healthier the lifestyle. A total of 1443 participants were included in the analysis, of whom
55.2% were female, 51.8% were middle aged or elderly and 30.5% completed tertiary education or
higher. The prevalence of multimorbidity was 10.3%. The combination of hypertension and hyper-
lipidaemia was the most common (22.2%) multimorbidity among the participants with multimor-
bidity. After the adjustment of the covariates, it was found that the participants who were over-
weight (OR: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.18–3.20, p = 0.009) or obese (OR: 3.76, 95% CI: 2.38–5.96, p < 0.001), former
drinkers (OR: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.26–4.69, p = 0.008), and those who reported poor sleep quality (OR:
2.25, 95% CI: 1.49–3.40, p < 0.001) had a high risk of developing multimorbidity. A one-unit increase
in the lifestyle score was associated with a 0.33-times reduction in the risk of developing multimor-
bidity (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.59–0.77, p < 0.001). A combination of lifestyle factors can infuence a va-
riety of multimorbidity among the Chinese adults in Macau. Thus, comprehensively assessing the
combined contribution of several lifestyle factors in predicting multimorbidity is important.
Keywords: multimorbidity; lifestyle; drinking; BMI; sleeping
1. Introduction
Multimorbidity is defned as the coexistence of two or more chronic diseases in a
single individual [1]. The prevalence of multimorbidity has grown worldwide in recent
years, which has led to heavy disease burdens and high health costs globally [2]. In the
United States, the prevalence of multimorbidity among the young population (aged 18–
44 years) ranges from 37.9% in the District of Columbia to 64.4% in West Virginia [3]. A
Citation: Yang, Q.; Zhang, Q.; Ngai,
F.W.; Wang, S.; Zhang, D.; Gao, Y.;
Hao, C.; Wang, H.H.; Nogueira,
O.C.B.L.; Liu, M.; et al. The
Multimorbidity and Lifestyle
Correlates in Chinese Population
Residing in Macau: Findings from a
Community-Based Needs
Assessment Study. Healthcare 2023,
11, 1906. htps://doi.org/10.3390/
healthcare11131906
Academic Editor: João Paulo Brito
Received: 15 May 2023
Revised: 19 June 2023
Accepted: 29 June 2023
Published: 30 June 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Li-
censee MDPI, Basel, Switerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and con-
ditions of the Creative Commons At-
tribution (CC BY) license (htps://cre-
ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).