Objective To explore the relationship between comorbidity and comorbidity pattern prevalence and mobility function among community-dwelling the elderly in Zhejiang province, and to provide a reference basis for the prevention and intervention of comorbidity prevalence in the elderly.

Methods From June to December 2022, a multi-stage random sampling method was used to select 7 776 community-dwelling the elderly aged ≥ 60 years old in Zhejiang province for a questionnaire survey. The relationship between comorbidity and comorbidity pattern prevalence and mobility function was analyzed among the 2 445 the elderly who were finally included and participated in the mobility function test.

Results Among the 2 445 community-dwelling the elderly in Zhejiang province, 1 250 had comorbidities, with a comorbidity prevalence rate of 51.12%; 533 had cardiovascular-metabolic comorbidity pattern, with a comorbidity prevalence rate of 21.80%; 323 had respiratory system comorbidity pattern, with a comorbidity prevalence rate of 13.20%; 143 had mental-sensory comorbidity pattern, with a comorbidity prevalence rate of 5.84%; and 258 had musculoskeletal joint comorbidity pattern, with a comorbidity prevalence rate of 10.55%. The completion time of the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test for community-dwelling the elderly in Zhejiang province ranged from 5.05 to 59.55 s, with a mean completion time of (11.21 ± 3.15) s; the completion time of the One-Leg Standing with Eyes Closed (OLS-EC) test ranged from 0 to 29 s, with a mean completion time of (3.72 ± 2.72) s; and the number of repetitions completed in the 30-second Chair Stand (CS-30) test ranged from 0 to 30, with a mean number of repetitions of (13.51 ± 3.79). After adjusting for confounding factors such as gender, age, education level, marital status, and place of residence, community-dwelling the elderly with comorbidities in Zhejiang province had longer TUG completion times (β = 0.51, 95%CI: 0.26 – 0.19), and fewer CS-30 repetitions (β = – 0.73, 95%CI: – 1.02 – – 0.45) compared to those without comorbidities; community-dwelling the elderly with cardiovascular-metabolic comorbidity pattern had longer TUG completion times (β = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.30 – 0.23), and fewer CS-30 repetitions (β = – 0.78, 95%CI: – 1.13 – – 0.43) compared to those without cardiovascular-metabolic comorbidities; community-dwelling the elderly with respiratory system comorbidity pattern had fewer CS-30 repetitions (β = – 1.34, 95%CI: – 2.61 – – 0.07) compared to those without respiratory system comorbidities; and community-dwelling the elderly with musculoskeletal joint comorbidity pattern had longer TUG completion times (β = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.08 – 0.02) compared to those without musculoskeletal joint comorbidities.

Conclusion The prevalence of comorbidities among community-dwelling the elderly in Zhejiang province was positively correlated with the risk of individual mobility function decline, and the impact of different comorbidity pattern prevalence on the mobility function of community-dwelling the elderly varies.