Physical multimorbidity and dynapenic abdominal obesity among older adults from low- and middle-income countries

Lee Smith; Guillermo F. López Sánchez; Nicola Veronese; Pinar Soysal; Mark A. Tully; Karel Kostev; Laurie Butler; Helen Keyes; Yvonne Barnett; Jae Il Shin; Ai Koyanagi

doi:10.1038/s43856-025-01037-9

Physical multimorbidity and dynapenic abdominal obesity among older adults from low- and middle-income countries

Lee Smith
, Guillermo F. López Sánchez
, Nicola Veronese
, Pinar Soysal
, Mark A. Tully
, Karel Kostev
, Laurie Butler
, Helen Keyes
, Yvonne Barnett
, Jae Il Shin
, Ai Koyanagi

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

33 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: As far as we are aware, to date, there are no studies on the association between dynapenic abdominal obesity (DAO) and physical multimorbidity (i.e., ≥2 chronic conditions). Thus, we aimed to examine this association among older adults from six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health were analyzed. Data on 20,198 adults aged ≥60 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 69.4 (13.1) years; 54.1% females]. Information on 11 chronic physical conditions was obtained. Dynapenia was defined as 88 cm for women and >102 cm for men. DAO was defined as having both dynapenia and abdominal obesity. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to no dynapenia and no abdominal obesity, dynapenia alone, abdominal obesity alone, and DAO are associated with 1.34 (95% CI = 1.16–1.55), 1.64 (95% CI = 1.36–1.98), and 2.49 (95% CI = 1.94–3.19) times higher odds for physical multimorbidity, respectively. Conclusions: Dynapenic abdominal obesity is significantly associated with higher odds for physical multimorbidity among older adults in LMICs. Prevention and management of dynapenic abdominal obesity may aid in reducing the burden of physical multimorbidity, pending future longitudinal research.

Original language	English
Article number	315
Pages (from-to)	1-7
Number of pages	7
Journal	Communications medicine
Volume	5
Issue number	1
Early online date	29 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01037-9
Publication status	Published online - 29 Jul 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

Data Availability Statement

The data used in this study are publicly available from the World Health Organization’s Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE). Researchers can request access to the datasets by registering at the WHO SAGE data portal: https://www.who.int/data/data-collection-tools/study-on-global-ageing-and-adult-health. The source data for Fig. 1 are in Supplementary Data 1.

Funding

This paper uses data from the WHO\u2019s Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE). SAGE is supported by the U.S. National Institute on Aging through Interagency Agreements OGHA 04034785, YA1323-08-CN-0020, Y1-AG-1005-01, and through research grants R01-AG034479 and R21-AG034263. This work was supported by the Yonsei Fellowship, funded by Lee Youn Jae (JIS).

Funders	Funder number
National Institute on Aging	R01-AG034479, OGHA 04034785, Y1-AG-1005-01, YA1323-08-CN-0020, R21-AG034263

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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10.1038/s43856-025-01037-9

9c205b15-f9e9-431d-a816-775372c55883Final published version, 560 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Smith, L., López Sánchez, G. F., Veronese, N., Soysal, P., Tully, M. A., Kostev, K., Butler, L., Keyes, H., Barnett, Y., Shin, J. I., & Koyanagi, A. (2025). Physical multimorbidity and dynapenic abdominal obesity among older adults from low- and middle-income countries. Communications medicine, 5(1), 1-7. Article 315. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01037-9

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abstract = "Background: As far as we are aware, to date, there are no studies on the association between dynapenic abdominal obesity (DAO) and physical multimorbidity (i.e., ≥2 chronic conditions). Thus, we aimed to examine this association among older adults from six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health were analyzed. Data on 20,198 adults aged ≥60 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 69.4 (13.1) years; 54.1\% females]. Information on 11 chronic physical conditions was obtained. Dynapenia was defined as 88 cm for women and >102 cm for men. DAO was defined as having both dynapenia and abdominal obesity. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to no dynapenia and no abdominal obesity, dynapenia alone, abdominal obesity alone, and DAO are associated with 1.34 (95\% CI = 1.16–1.55), 1.64 (95\% CI = 1.36–1.98), and 2.49 (95\% CI = 1.94–3.19) times higher odds for physical multimorbidity, respectively. Conclusions: Dynapenic abdominal obesity is significantly associated with higher odds for physical multimorbidity among older adults in LMICs. Prevention and management of dynapenic abdominal obesity may aid in reducing the burden of physical multimorbidity, pending future longitudinal research.",

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AU - López Sánchez, Guillermo F.

AU - Veronese, Nicola

AU - Soysal, Pinar

AU - Tully, Mark A.

AU - Kostev, Karel

AU - Butler, Laurie

AU - Keyes, Helen

AU - Barnett, Yvonne

AU - Shin, Jae Il

AU - Koyanagi, Ai

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N2 - Background: As far as we are aware, to date, there are no studies on the association between dynapenic abdominal obesity (DAO) and physical multimorbidity (i.e., ≥2 chronic conditions). Thus, we aimed to examine this association among older adults from six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health were analyzed. Data on 20,198 adults aged ≥60 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 69.4 (13.1) years; 54.1% females]. Information on 11 chronic physical conditions was obtained. Dynapenia was defined as 88 cm for women and >102 cm for men. DAO was defined as having both dynapenia and abdominal obesity. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to no dynapenia and no abdominal obesity, dynapenia alone, abdominal obesity alone, and DAO are associated with 1.34 (95% CI = 1.16–1.55), 1.64 (95% CI = 1.36–1.98), and 2.49 (95% CI = 1.94–3.19) times higher odds for physical multimorbidity, respectively. Conclusions: Dynapenic abdominal obesity is significantly associated with higher odds for physical multimorbidity among older adults in LMICs. Prevention and management of dynapenic abdominal obesity may aid in reducing the burden of physical multimorbidity, pending future longitudinal research.

AB - Background: As far as we are aware, to date, there are no studies on the association between dynapenic abdominal obesity (DAO) and physical multimorbidity (i.e., ≥2 chronic conditions). Thus, we aimed to examine this association among older adults from six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health were analyzed. Data on 20,198 adults aged ≥60 years were analyzed [mean (SD) age 69.4 (13.1) years; 54.1% females]. Information on 11 chronic physical conditions was obtained. Dynapenia was defined as 88 cm for women and >102 cm for men. DAO was defined as having both dynapenia and abdominal obesity. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, compared to no dynapenia and no abdominal obesity, dynapenia alone, abdominal obesity alone, and DAO are associated with 1.34 (95% CI = 1.16–1.55), 1.64 (95% CI = 1.36–1.98), and 2.49 (95% CI = 1.94–3.19) times higher odds for physical multimorbidity, respectively. Conclusions: Dynapenic abdominal obesity is significantly associated with higher odds for physical multimorbidity among older adults in LMICs. Prevention and management of dynapenic abdominal obesity may aid in reducing the burden of physical multimorbidity, pending future longitudinal research.

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Physical multimorbidity and dynapenic abdominal obesity among older adults from low- and middle-income countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Funding

UN SDGs

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