- New collaborative study examined how air pollution and water quality in the Serbian population are linked to people having multimorbidity (multiple long-term chronic conditions)
- These findings suggest that improving air and water quality could help reduce the number of people with multiple health problems in Serbia
Multimorbidity is the presence of two or more chronic health conditions that create disability and poor quality of life in old age. In 2023, the overall global prevalence of multimorbidity was 37.2 per cent. However, the mechanisms driving multimorbidity are complex and not well understood.
The 'Insights into relationship of environmental inequalities and multimorbidity' study aimed to identify groups of people in Serbia with similar health problems and to see if these groups were more likely to live in areas with poor air quality or water pollution.
Researchers examined a large group of people from all over Serbia using information from the European Health Interview Survey, a regular survey used to understand the health of people across Europe.
The study found that the overall prevalence of multimorbidity in Serbia was 33.4 per cent, with health problems grouped into six main categories: general health problems, heart problems, diabetes and related problems, lung problems, and muscle and bone problems.
The results showed that people living in areas with higher levels of air pollution, especially from tiny particles (PM10) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), were more likely to have multimorbidity. Additionally, people exposed to polluted water, whether it was chemically polluted, biologically polluted, or both, were also more likely to have multimorbidity
This research represents a unique collaboration between the Healthy Lifespan Institute, the University of Belgrade and public health and environmental agencies in Serbia. It shows, for the first time, the association between environmental pollution and specific multimorbidity clusters, highlighting the need for policies for tackling health inequalities and multimorbidity to address both socioeconomic and environmental factors.
Professor Liddy Goyder
Professor of Public Health and member of the Healthy Lifespan Institute at the University of Sheffield
These findings suggest that improving air and water quality could help reduce the number of people with multiple health problems in Serbia.
The study was led by Professor Liddy Goyder, Professor Ilaria Bellantuono, and Ravindra Maheswaran from the Healthy Lifespan Institute at the Univesity of Sheffield. This study included international collaboration with the University of Belgrade, Aston University, the Institute of Public Health of Serbia, the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Internal Medicine (Mayo Clinic).
The study was funded by the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund and Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. The data from the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) was provided by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanović Batut". The work was supported by the Ministry of Health, Republic of Serbia and World Health Organization, Country Office Serbia.
The Healthy Lifespan Institute is the UK's first research institute entirely dedicated to the understanding and prevention of multimorbidity and frailty.
