Frontiers in Public Health · Oct 13, 2026

Social inequalities and the risk of multimorbidity in Mexican adults: an intersectional approach

By Mino-León D, Reyes-Morales H, Carrillo-Vega MF et al.

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.

doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1977366Open accessPubMed 42947774Populations