Quality of life, work productivity impairment and healthcare resources in inflammatory bowel diseases in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) have been associated with a low quality of life (QoL) and a negative impact on work productivity compared to the general population. Information about disease control, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), treatment patterns and use of healthcare resources is relevant to optimizing IBD management. AIM: To describe QoL and work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI), treatment patterns and use of healthcare resources among IBD patients in Brazil. METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional study included adult outpatients who were previously diagnosed with moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). At enrolment, active CD and UC were defined as having a Harvey Bradshaw Index ≥ 8 or a CD Activity Index ≥ 220 or calprotectin > 200 µg/g or previous colonoscopy results suggestive of inadequate control (per investigator criteria) and a 9-point partial Mayo score ≥ 5, respectively. The PRO assessment included the QoL questionnaires SF-36 and EQ-5D-5L, the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ), and the WPAI questionnaire. Information about healthcare resources and treatment during the previous 3 years was collected from medical records. Chi-square, Fisher's exact and Student's t-/Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare PROs, treatment patterns and the use of healthcare resources by disease activity (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Of the 407 patients in this study (CD/UC: 64.9%/35.1%, mean age 42.9/45.9 years, 54.2%/56.6% female, 38.3%/37.1% employed), 44.7%/25.2% presented moderate-to-severe CD/UC activity, respectively, at baseline. Expressed in median values for CD/UC, respectively, the SF-36 physical component was 46.6/44.7 and the mental component was 45.2/44.2, the EQ-visual analog scale score was 80.0/70.0, and the IBDQ overall score was 164.0/165.0. Moderate to severe activity, female gender, being unemployed, a lower educational level and lower income were associated with lower QoL (P < 0.05). Median work productivity impairment was 20% and 5% for CD and UC patients, respectively, and activity impairment was 30%, the latter being higher among patients with moderate to severe disease activity compared to patients with mild or no disease activity (75.0% vs 10.0%, P < 0.001). For CD/UC patients, respectively, 25.4%/2.8% had at least one surgery, 38.3%/19.6% were hospitalized, and 70.7%/77.6% changed IBD treatment at least once during the last 3 years. The most common treatments at baseline were biologics (75.3%) and immunosuppressants (70.9%) for CD patients and 5-ASA compounds (77.5%) for UC patients. CONCLUSION: Moderate to severe IBD activity, especially among CD patients, is associated with a substantial impact on QoL, work productivity impairment and an increased number of IBD surgeries and hospitalizations in Brazil.

[Hypertension Control at the Primary Health Care: A Comparison Among Portuguese Natives and Portuguese Speaking African Coutries Immigrants]. / Controlo da Hipertensão Arterial nos Cuidados de Saúde Primários: Uma Comparação entre Nativos Portugueses e Imigrantes dos Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa.

INTRODUCTION: In Portugal, the frequency of patient with treated and controlled hypertension is low. It is unknown the relation of socio-economic determinants with hypertension control, particularly in African immigrants. AIMS: To compare frequency of control in treated hypertension and to identify characteristics associated with uncontrolled and treated hypertension between Portuguese natives (Caucasian) and Portuguese Speaking African Coutries immigrants (black). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study of patients with treated hypertension, 40-80 years old, randomized from Primary Health Care of Lisbon Region. We collected sociodemographic, clinical and health care data through structured interviews. We compared the frequency of patients with uncontrolled hypertension, and identified related factors through univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: In this study participated 786 patients with treated hypertension (participation rate: 71%): 449 natives and 337 immigrants. Of these, 46% had controlled hypertension. Diastolic blood pressure was higher in younger immigrants. Were associated with no control, in natives, male sex, low education, going to emergency and / or nursing services and not looking for the family doctor; on immigrants, being single, using the pharmacist, the number of years of illness and intentional non-adherence. DISCUSSION: Treated hypertension control has been increasing for last years. Natives and immigrants differ, regarding blood pressure control, relatively to the frequency of family doctor consultation, and resorting to other services and health professionals. These differences didn't reflect in statistically different control rates. CONCLUSIONS: It is needed to define strategies to control hypertension in primary health care specific for ethnic groups.

Introdução: Em Portugal, a percentagem de hipertensos tratados e controlados é relativamente baixa. Desconhece-se a relação dos determinantes socioeconómicos com o controlo tensional, particularmente nos imigrantes africanos. Objetivo: Comparar a frequência de controlo nos hipertensos tratados e identificar características associadas à hipertensão tratada não controlada, entre nativos portugueses (caucasianos) e imigrantes dos PALOP (negros). Material e Métodos: Estudo transversal de hipertensos tratados, com 40-80 anos, aleatorizados dos Cuidados de Saúde Primários da região de Lisboa. Recolheram-se dados sociodemográficos, clínicos e cuidados de saúde por entrevistas estruturadas. Comparou-se a frequência de hipertensos não controlados nos dois grupos, identificando-se fatores relacionados por análise univariada e multi-variada. Resultados: Participaram 786 hipertensos tratados (taxa de participação: 71%): 449 nativos e 337 imigrantes. Destes, 46% tinham a hipertensão controlada. A pressão arterial diastólica foi mais elevada nos imigrantes mais novos. Nos nativos, o não controlo associou--se a: sexo masculino, menor grau de escolaridade, ida aos serviços de urgência e/ou enfermagem e não ida ao médico de família; nos imigrantes, ser solteiro, recorrer ao farmacêutico, número de anos de doença e não adesão intencional à terapêutica. Discussão: O controlo da hipertensão tratada tem vindo a aumentar nos últimos anos. Nativos e imigrantes diferenciam-se no controlo tensional relativamente à frequência do recurso a consulta do médico de família, e de outros serviços e profissionais de saúde. Estas diferenças não se refletiram em taxas de controlo estatisticamente significativas. Conclusões: Será necessário definir estratégias para o controlo da hipertensão nos cuidados de saúde primários diferenciadas para os grupos étnicos.