What is already known about this topic? The prevalence of metabolic multimorbidity is rising in China and has been linked to lifestyle factors; however, evidence characterizing the dynamic transitions across disease states and the stage-specific influence of lifestyle behaviors remains scarce. What is added by this report? At baseline, the prevalence of metabolic multimorbidity was 24.14%, with males, older adults, and individuals with adverse lifestyle behaviors bearing a disproportionately elevated risk. Hepatic steatosis was associated with a markedly increased risk of progression to multimorbidity, while smoking, high-salt diets, and irregular physical activity each showed differential associations with specific disease transition pathways. What are the implications for public health practice? Lifestyle behaviors exert meaningful influence at every stage of metabolic disease progression, identifying them as priority targets for stage-specific prevention and control strategies in China.
Yang et al. (2026) studied this question.