Is there an Association Between Comorbidities and Income or Literacy in Incident Dialysis Patients Living in Contagem, Brazil?

Abstract

Socioeconomic disparities are suspected to play an important role in the development of non-communicable chronic diseases and increase the risk for mortality and morbidity among patients with end-stage renal disease. This study aimed to investigate a possible association between educational levels, monthly per capita income and prevalence of clinical comorbidities found in patients at the initiation of the hemodialysis therapy. A sample of 214 patients was analyzed. Patients were stratified according to their educational level in two groups: ≤ 4 and > 4 years of formal education. For the monthly per capita income the following groups were considered: < US$300.00, ≥ US$300.00 and < US$450.00 and ≥ US$450.00. There was no statistical significant difference regarding the prevalence of comorbidities when comparing different educational levels. Similar results were found when monthly per capita income was analysed. In spite of that, there was an elevated frequency of patients with ≤ 4 years of formal education (73.36%, p<0.05) and with a monthly per capita income below US$450.00 (80.84%, p<0.05) among those initiating hemodialysis therapy. In conclusion, despite the fact that there was no statistical association between the prevalence of comorbidities and socioeconomic factors our data indicated that disadvantage populations might be at elevated risk to initiate dialysis therapy in the city of Contagem, Brazil.