Factors associated to multimorbidity in inpatient elderly according to sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and use of services

Abstract

Introduction: Aging is a physiological process associated to decreased functional capacity and the presence of diseases, especially chronic noncommunicable diseases. Objective: To analyze the prevalence and factors associated to the multimorbidity of elderly in a teaching hospital, according to sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and use of services in the health care network. Methods: Descriptive and inferential cross-sectional study, conducted with 144 hospitalized patients 60 years of age or more, from January to June 2018, in a university hospital in the state of Paraná. Data were collected 30 days after hospital discharge by telephone interview. The dependent variable was the occurrence of multimorbidity and the independent variables were: sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and use of hospital health services. Logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: It was found that 55% of the elderly had multimorbidity. The elderly who were more chances to have multimorbidity where there low education (OR=16.29; CI:2.75-96.42), non-white (OR=2.34; CI:1.00-5.50) hospitalized longer (4 to 7 days: OR=6.91; CI:2.40-19.96; more than 7 days: OR=3.03; CI:1.00-9.22), who scheduled to return to the hospital (OR=18.99; CI: 1.30-277.87), and that after discharge they needed help from someone to follow the medical recommendations (OR=3.16; CI:1.38-7.22). Conclusion: It was identified a high prevalence of multimorbidity, and important factors associated to multimorbidity in hospitalized elderly, with emphasis on education; color; hospitalization time; scheduling of return to hospital after discharge; need for help from someone (family member/caregiver), without post-discharge, to follow medical recommendations.