Abstract
This study aimed to identify an association between the most frequent multimorbidities in Brazilian older adults and socioeconomic and lifestyle variables. National Health Survey's data were used. The Chi-square test and the Poisson multiple regression were used to analyze data. A total of 5,575 older adults with multimorbidity and mean age of 70.3 years participated in the study. Most of them are female (66.3%), white (56.1%), are sedentary (75.3%), with low schooling (40%), no health plan (65.3%), did not consume alcohol (78.7%) and did not smoke (90.1%). The most prevalent multimorbidities were hypertension and high cholesterol (31.3%), hypertension and stroke (30.9%) and hypertension and diabetes (23.3%). There was an association of the first condition with females, younger adults and no tobacco use. On the other hand, the second condition was associated with females and low level of schooling. The third group was associated with low schooling, sedentary lifestyle and no tobacco use. We can conclude that multimorbidity in Brazilian older adults is a frequent condition in women, younger seniors and those socioeconomically disadvantaged. Also, socioeconomic conditions and lifestyle influenced the prevalence of primary multimorbidities.
Highlights
Materials and methodsThe world health scenario experiences an epidemiological transition with a profound change in health and disease patterns, which interact with demographic, economic, social, cultural and environmental factors[1]
Based on the data presented, we can observe that the prevalence of hypertension and high cholesterol in older adults is associated with females, younger seniors and no tobacco use at the moment of the research
This can be explained because the world and the national female population is larger than the male population, and women have a longer life expectancy, which increases the possibility of multimorbidity[7,8,9,10,11,12,13]
Summary
Materials and methodsThe world health scenario experiences an epidemiological transition with a profound change in health and disease patterns, which interact with demographic, economic, social, cultural and environmental factors[1]. Infectious diseases are still relevant and present, chronic noncommunicable diseases have recorded a significant increase, among which cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and neuropsychiatric diseases have accounted for high mortality and loss of quality of life These conditions can generate disabilities, a high degree of limitation in their activities of daily living and leisure and, exert considerable pressure on health services[2]. Within this context, the occurrence of multiple chronic diseases in a single individual, known as multimorbidity, has become quite present in the world population. This may be closely related to an increased life expectancy of the population[4]
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