Abstract Body: Introduction: Intrinsic capacity (IC), encompassing all physical and mental capacities of an individual, is key to healthy aging. Despite increasing emphasis on person-centered care for older adults with cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM), the joint effect of IC and CMM on mortality risk is poorly understood.
Methods: We included participants aged 65 years and older recruited from five waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2002 to 2014, with follow-up to 2018. IC was assessed across five domains: cognition, locomotor, sensory function, psychological well-being, and vitality. IC scores were calculated as a percentage of the maximum possible (100) and dichotomized by the median. CMM was defined as the presence of two or more diseases among hypertension, diabetes, stroke or CVD, or heart disease at baseline. We used Cox proportional hazards models to examine the individual and joint effects of IC and CMM on all-cause mortality risk. All models were adjusted for demographics, lifestyles, and Activities of Daily Living.
Results: Among 21,097 participants (mean age 84.9 years, 56.0% female), 11,753 deaths were recorded over a median follow-up duration of 3.7 (IQR: 1.6–7.5) years. We found either having CMM (Hazard Ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.04–1.21) or low IC (HR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.29–1.41) was significantly associated with a higher mortality risk, respectively. In the joint analysis (P-interaction = 0.026), compared to those with high IC and no CMM, participants with low IC combined with having CMM exhibited the highest mortality risk (HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.27–1.55).
Conclusions: Low IC and having CMM were jointly associated with a higher all-cause mortality risk among older Chinese adults.