Diurnal temperature range and daily mean temperature in relation to multimorbidity among middle-aged or older Chinese adults: insights from the CHARLS.
Higher diurnal temperature range linked to greater multimorbidity risk in Chinese adults
Diurnal temperature range and daily mean temperature in relation to multimorbidity among middle-aged or older Chinese adults: insights from the CHARLS.
Multimorbidity is a major public health burden amid population ageing in China, where over 40% of adults aged ≥ 50 years are affected.
We aimed to investigate associations of long-term diurnal temperature range and daily mean temperature with multimorbidity risk in Chinese middle-aged and older adults.
We included 16,930 adults aged ≥ 45 years for cross-sectional analysis, and 10,447 baseline multimorbidity-free participants for 7-year follow-up.
each 1°C wider daily temperature swing raises multimorbidity risk
Lower mDMT had a nonlinear inverse association with multimorbidity (HR = 0.969 per 1℃ increase, 95%CI 0.960-0.978), with a critical 11.3℃ risk threshold and effect modification by age and geographic region.
Findings remained robust across all prespecified sensitivity analyses.
Long-term exposure to higher mDTR and lower mDMT was independently associated with increased multimorbidity risk among middle-aged and older Chinese adults.
Taken together, these findings suggest that routine temperature variability is a climate-sensitive environmental exposure with relevance to adaptation-oriented multimorbidity prevention and risk stratification.
They also support climate-adaptation strategies, including urban thermal planning, housing protection, early-warning systems, and targeted chronic disease management.