The impact of place on multimorbidity

A systematic scoping review

Bibliographic Data

ID11697809
AuthorsChunyu Zheng (0000-0001-7795-1427, University of Edinburgh), Christina Macrae (0000-0002-1007-683X, Institute of Occupational Medicine), Clare Macrae, Laurence Rowley-Abel (0009-0004-7043-2228, University of Edinburgh), Stella Arakelyan (0000-0003-0326-707X, University of Edinburgh), Eleojo Abubakar (0000-0001-5528-2357, University of Edinburgh), Chris Dibben (0000-0003-1769-3774, University of Edinburgh), Bruce Guthrie (0000-0003-4191-4880, Institute of Occupational Medicine), Anne Marshall (0000-0002-8154-0273, University of Edinburgh), Alan Marshall (0000-0003-0971-829X), Jamie R Pearce (0000-0002-0994-7140, University of Edinburgh)
Year2024
Volume361
Pages117379-117379
Publication date2024-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117379
PMID39447514
OpenAlexW4403014542
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited63

Multimorbidity, commonly defined as the co-existence of two or more long-term conditions, is a major global public health challenge with significant impacts for health and social care systems. There is a substantial body of work identifying different individual- and household-level determinants of multimorbidity, yet the role of place-based characteristics in affecting multimorbidity remains limited. This systematic scoping review identifies place-based risk factors for multimorbidity and further synthesises the potential pathways explaining these relationships using longitudinal evidence. By systematically searching seven major databases, such as Medline, Embase, and Web of Science, using relevant search terms (e.g., MeSH) relating to place-based risk factors and multimorbidity, 76 out of 7761 studies were included for evidence synthesis. We include studies exploring the relationship between place-based risk factors and multimorbidity among the general population older than 18 years old in the setting of community-dwelling, primary, and secondary care. We identified 12 types of place-based risk factors, with the impacts of area-level deprivation/SES, pollution, and urban/rurality on multimorbidity being most frequently considered and with the most consistent findings, with people living in more deprived/low SES, highly polluted, or more urbanised areas having increased risks of multimorbidity. Further, the impact of these place-based risk factors on multimorbidity varied according to the operationalisation of the multimorbidity measure. We also identified that the impacts of other types of place-based factors on multimorbidity remain underexplored, such as social cohesion and greenspace. Finally, using these longitudinal findings, we propose a conceptual framework linking place and multimorbidity. We suggest that future studies explore a wider range of place-level environmental exposures and use more precise measures, exploit electronic health records to implement more consistent and reproducible measurements of multimorbidity, moreover, make greater use of longitudinal study designs or analytical approaches better suited to identifying causal processes

Environmental health · MEDLINE · Multimorbidity · Political science · Population · Regional science · Sociology · Chronic Disease Management Strategies · Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Gerontology

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