title: Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity among the elderly in Burkina Faso: cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence and distribution patterns of multimorbidity among urban older adults in Burkina Faso.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study among community-dwelling elderly people aged ≥60 in Bobo-Dioulasso. We performed interviews, clinical examination and medical record review. Multimorbidity was defined as co-occurrence of at least two chronic diseases in one person whether as a coincidence or not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of multimorbidity among older adults was 65%. Age ≥70 was associated with multimorbidity in multivariate analysis: adjusted OR = 1.65, 95% CI (1.01-2.68, P = 0.04). The most common chronic diseases were hypertension (82%) 95% CI (78; 86), malnutrition (39%) 95% CI (34; 44), visual impairments (28%) 95% CI (24; 33) and diabetes mellitus (27%) 95% CI (22; 31). Those aged ≥70 had significantly more malnutrition (50% vs. 31%, P = 0.0003) and osteoarthritis (8% vs. 3%, P = 0.01) than those aged 60-69.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of multimorbidity requires a reorganization of healthcare systems in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Burkina Faso. Interventions and care guidelines usually focused on individual diseases should be improved to better reflect this reality.
authors.affiliation: Centre MURAZ, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hien
authors.forename: Abdramane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berthé
authors.forename: Maxime Koiné
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Drabo
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Meda
authors.forename: Blahima
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Konaté
authors.forename: Fatoumata
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tou
authors.forename: Fatoumata
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Badini-Kinda
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Macq
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002050:Burkina Faso / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Multimorbilidad; adultos mayores; community-dwelling; comunidades; multimorbidity; multimorbidité; older adults; personnes âgées; vie en communauté