Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in Amazon Region of Brazil and associated determinants: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity and to identify factors associated with it in the adult population from the metropolitan region of Manaus. DESIGN: Cross-sectional population-based study. SETTING: Interviews conducted between May and August of 2015 in eight cities that compose the metropolitan region of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 4001 adults aged ≥18 years. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Multimorbidity, measured by the occurrence of ≥2 and ≥3 chronic diseases, was the primary outcome. The associated factors were investigated by calculating the prevalence ratio (PR) obtained by Poisson regression, with robust adjustment of the variance in a hierarchical model. A factor analysis was conducted to investigate multimorbidity clusters. RESULTS: Half of the interviewees were women. The presence of a chronic disease was reported by 57.2% (95% CI 56.6% to 59.7%) of the interviewees, and the mean morbidity was 1.2 (1.1-1.2); 29.0% (95% CI 27.6% to 30.5%) reported ≥2 morbidities and 15.2% (95% CI 14.1% to 16.4%) reported ≥3 chronic conditions. Back pain was reported by one-third of the interviewees. Multimorbidity was highest in women, PR=1.66 (95% CI 1.50 to 1.83); the elderly, PR=5.68 (95% CI 4.51 to 7.15) and individuals with worse health perception, PR=3.70 (95% CI 2.73 to 5.00). Associated factors also included undergoing medical consultations, hospitalisation in the last year, suffering from dengue in the last year and seeking the same healthcare service. Factor analysis revealed a pattern of multimorbidity in women. The factor loading the most strength of association in women was heart disease. In men, an association was identified in two groups, and lung disease was the disease with the highest factorial loading. CONCLUSION: Multimorbidity was frequent in the metropolitan region of Manaus. It occurred most often in women, in the elderly and in those with worse health perception.

Prevalence of health services usage and associated factors in the Amazon region of Brazil: a population-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of healthcare use and associated factors in the Manaus metropolitan region and to describe the reasons for lack of access. DESIGN: Cross-sectional population-based study. SETTING: A survey conducted between May and August of 2015 in eight cities from Manaus metropolitan region, Amazonas, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 4001 adults ≥18 years of age. PRIMARY OUTCOMES MEASURES: Physician visits, dentist visits and hospitalisations in the last 12 months were the primary outcomes. Associated factors were investigated through the calculation of prevalence ratio (PR) obtained by hierarchical Poisson regression modelling. RESULTS: 4001 adults were included in the study, 53% of whom were women. The self-reported prevalence of medical visits was 77% (95% CI 75% to 77%); dentist visits, 36% (95% CI 34% to 37%) and hospital admission, 7% (95% CI 6% to 7%). Physician visits were higher in women PR=1.18 (95% CI 1.14 to 1.23), the elderly PR=1.18 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.26) and people with health insurance PR=1.14 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.19). Dentist visits declined with older age PR=0.38 (95% CI 0.30 to 0.49), lower education level PR=0.62 (95% CI 0.51 to 0.74) and lower economic class PR=0.65 (95% CI 0.57 to 0.75). Hospitalisations were found to be twice as frequent for women than for men and three times as frequent among those who reported very poor health status. Among the individuals who did not receive medical attention in the previous 2 weeks, 58% reported lack of facilities or appointment unavailable and 14% reported lack of doctors. CONCLUSION: While more than half visited the doctor in the last year, a lower proportion of people with socioeconomic inequities visited the dentist. Organisational and service policies are needed to increase equity in health services in the region.

Statins for early stage chronic kidney disease: an overview of reviews.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of statin therapy on early stage chronic kidney disease through an overview of systematic reviews. METHODS: We searched for systematic reviews of randomized clinical trials (RCT) on MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CRD, and Scopus. Independent reviewers selected the studies and extracted the relevant data. We critically appraised the included systematic reviews with the AMSTAR tool and presented the available data in the studies. RESULTS: From 731 retrieved records, we included three systematic reviews. Statins reduced the risk of mortality for all causes and for cardiovascular causes in patients with early stage chronic kidney disease as compared to the control (high-quality evidence). Statins also reduced the incidence of any myocardial infarction, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and stroke (moderate- to high-quality evidence). No differences were observed between statins and control upon the incidence of end-stage renal disease or on the outcomes assessed in patients with coronary artery disease and diabetes. CONCLUSION: Statins reduce the incidence of death and other relevant outcomes in patients with early stage chronic kidney disease and should be considered for such individuals who also present hyperlipidemia.