Multimorbidity as an important issue among women: Results of a gender difference investigation in a large population-based cross-sectional study in West Asia

Objectives To investigate the impact of gender on multimorbidity in northern Iran. Design A cross-sectional analysis of the Golestan cohort data. Setting Golestan Province, Iran. Study population 49 946 residents (age 40–75 years) of Golestan Province, Iran. Main outcome measures Researchers collected data related to multimorbidity, defined as co-existence of two or more chronic diseases in an individual, at the beginning of a representative cohort study which recruited its participants from 2004 to 2008. The researchers utilised simple and multiple Poisson regression models with robust variances to examine the simultaneous effects of multiple factors. Results Women had a 25.0% prevalence of multimorbidity, whereas men had a 13.4% prevalence (p