Association of multimorbidity and physical activity among older adults in India: an analysis from the Longitudinal Ageing Survey of India (2017–2018)

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of multimorbidity and physical activity among older adults in India. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted using large representative survey data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The study used data from the nationally representative ‘Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI),’ conducted during 2017–2018. The study included a total sample of 65 336 older adults aged 45 years and above in India. METHODS: Moderate and vigorous physical activities were measured separately by self-reported questionnaires. Physical activity was calculated as minutes of metabolic equivalent tasks per week. The outcome variable was a categorical variable where 2=the prevalence of more than one morbidity, 1=presence of one morbidity and 0=none. Bivariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression were applied to fulfil the objectives. RESULTS: 27.39% of older adults in India had multimorbidity. 31.02% of older adults did not engage in any moderate physical activities. Also, 59.39% of older adults did not engage in any vigorous physical activities. Older adults reporting low (adjusted relative risk ratio (A RRR): 1.10, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.18) and moderate (A RRR): 1.05, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.13) level of moderate physical activity were significantly more likely to suffer from multimorbidity compared with no involvement in moderate physical activity. However, older adults who reported high (A RRR: 0.79, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.84), moderate (A RRR: 0.88, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.98) and low level of vigorous physical activity (A RRR: 0.94, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.02) had significantly less multimorbidity in comparison to those who never engaged in vigorous physical activity. CONCLUSION: Lack of physical activity is associated with multimorbidity among older adults. Physical activity promotion should be adopted as a primary strategy in reducing the burden of morbidity and multimorbidity.