Social inequalities and the risk of multimorbidity in Mexican adults: an intersectional approach
4 affiliations
- 1Medical Research Unit on Clinical Epidemiology, Hospital de Especialidades Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social
- 2Center for Health Systems Research, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública
- 3Research Division, Instituto Nacional de Geriatría
- 4Center for Economic and Social Studies in Health, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez
Abstract
Introduction: Multimorbidity, which is defined as the presence of two or more simultaneous diseases, is a growing global health problem that is influenced by social conditions, the interaction and overlap of which have been rarely recognized. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the impact of relevant social inequalities on the risk of Multimorbidity in Mexican adults with an intersectional approach.
Methods: The data of 4,806 people older than 20 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) 2023 were analyzed. Multimorbidity was defined as the self-reported presence of two or more chronic diseases. A multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory precision was used to identify intersectional inequalities.
Results: The combinations of social attributes made up 38 strata. Social attributes explained 24.62% of the individual variability with respect to having Multimorbidity with an acceptable capacity to discriminate between having Multimorbidity or not. Young men who had higher education, employment and no social security had a lower probability of Multimorbidity; older women who had less education and no employment but did have social security were at greater risk. The main effects explained the total variance between strata, and important differences persisted between social combinations.
Conclusion: This intersectional work reveals various social identities that are grouped into strata and represent patterns of social disadvantage associated with Multimorbidity.
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BibTeX
@article{minoleon2026social,
title = {{Social inequalities and the risk of multimorbidity in Mexican adults: an intersectional approach}},
author = {Dolores Mino-León and Hortensia Reyes-Morales and María Fernanda Carrillo-Vega and Héctor García-Hernández and Guillermo Salinas-Escudero},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1977366},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1977366/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Social inequalities and the risk of multimorbidity in Mexican adults: an intersectional approach
AU - Dolores Mino-León
AU - Hortensia Reyes-Morales
AU - María Fernanda Carrillo-Vega
AU - Héctor García-Hernández
AU - Guillermo Salinas-Escudero
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1977366
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1977366/full
AB - Introduction: Multimorbidity, which is defined as the presence of two or more simultaneous diseases, is a growing global health problem that is influenced by social conditions, the interaction and overlap of which have been rarely recognized. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the impact of relevant social inequalities on the risk of Multimorbidity in Mexican adults with an intersectional approach. Methods: The data of 4,806 people older than 20 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) 2023 were analyzed. Multimorbidity was defined as the self-reported presence of two or more chronic diseases. A multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory precision was used to identify intersectional inequalities. Results: The combinations of social attributes made up 38 strata. Social attributes explained 24.62% of the individual variability with respect to having Multimorbidity with an acceptable capacity to discriminate between having Multimorbidity or not. Young men who had higher education, employment and no social security had a lower probability of Multimorbidity; older women who had less education and no employment but did have social security were at greater risk. The main effects explained the total variance between strata, and important differences persisted between social combinations. Conclusion: This intersectional work reveals various social identities that are grouped into strata and represent patterns of social disadvantage associated with Multimorbidity.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -