The socio-economic determinants of multimorbidity among the elderly population in Trinidad and Tobago.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity and investigate the socioeconomic factors that are associated with multimorbidity among persons 70 years and older in Trinidad and Tobago. DESIGN AND METHODS The data were obtained from a nationally representative comprehensive cross-sectional survey conducted in 2014 among elderly persons in the targeted age group. The prevalence of multimorbidity among the elderly population was estimated. A logit model was utilized to determine the socioeconomic characteristics that are associated with multimorbidity in the elderly. RESULTS The results of the study show that multimorbidity in the elderly population is strongly associated with age, ethnicity, lower education, smoking history, no physical activity and being female. An interesting finding is that elderly persons in the richest quintile are in general, more prone to multimorbidity. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that interventions to reduce multimorbidity among the elderly population must encourage greater levels of physical activity, provide education on the risk factors of multimorbidity, and discourage smoking.