Multimorbidity and Diet in Adults: A Scoping Review

Objective: to map and identify evidence on the relationship between diet and multimorbidity of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among adults. Methods: a scoping review was conducted in the electronic Virtual Health Library (VHL), EMBASE, PubMed, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Science Direct and Scopus databases. The inclusion criteria admitted quantitative studies published between 2000 and 2023 whose title and abstract mentioned multimorbidity and diet or used similar words. Results: the search retrieved 37 articles, 17 of which were included for analysis using the PRISMA-ScR protocol. Diets rich in fruit and vegetables were associated with decreased risk of multimorbidity, while the main dietary risk factor for multimorbidity was diets rich in red meat and chicken, possibly influenced by dietary patterns and lifestyle factors. Conclusion: this review summarised the findings of studies describing the evidence of association between diet and multimorbidity, which has important public health implications.