Research Article: Burden, determinants, consequences and care of multimorbidity in rural and urbanising Telangana, India: protocol for a mixed-methods study within the APCAPS cohort
Abstract:
Introduction The epidemiological and demographic transitions are leading to a rising burden of multimorbidity (co-occurrence of two or more chronic conditions) worldwide. Evidence on the burden, determinants, consequences and care of multimorbidity in rural and urbanising India is limited, partly due to a lack of longitudinal and objectively measured data on chronic health conditions. We will conduct a mixed-methods study nested in the prospective Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents’ Study (APCAPS) cohort to develop a data resource for understanding the epidemiology of multimorbidity in rural and urbanising India and developing interventions to improve the prevention and care of multimorbidity. Methods and analysis We aim to recruit 2100 APCAPS cohort members aged 45+ who have clinical and lifestyle data collected during a previous cohort follow-up (2010–2012). We will screen for locally prevalent non-communicable, infectious and mental health conditions, alongside cognitive impairments, disabilities and frailty, using a combination of self-reported clinical diagnosis, symptom-based questionnaires, physical examinations and biochemical assays. We will conduct in-depth interviews with people with varying multimorbidity clusters, their informal carers and local healthcare providers. Deidentified data will be made available to external researchers. Ethics and dissemination The study has received approval from the ethics committees of the National Institute of Nutrition and Indian Institute of Public Health Hyderabad, India and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. Meta-data and data collection instruments will be published on the APCAPS website alongside details of existing APCAPS data and the data access process ( www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres-projects-groups/apcaps ).
Introduction:
Multimorbidity, defined as the co-occurrence of two or more conditions of long-duration (‘chronic’) in an individual, is rising globally. 1 Multimorbidity is associated with poor quality of life, disability, mortality and healthcare use, which significantly strain health systems. 1 In rural India, where 65% of the Indian population reside, socioeconomic developments and globalisation are introducing new risk factors for chronic conditions (eg, air pollution) alongside prevailing poverty-related risks (eg,…
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