AZEVÊDO, S. M. A.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/7456958133363094; AZEVÊDO, Schirley Maria de Araújo.
Abstract:
Population aging has led to an increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases and chronic
diseases, which culminates in multimorbidity in the elderly, defined as the occurrence of two
or more chronic diseases in the same individual. The general objective of this study was to
estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity and associated factors in elderly people. It consists
of a cross-sectional and analytical observational epidemiological study, with a quantitative
design, carried out in the Primary Health Care setting. The sample consisted of 137 elderly
people selected by simple random sampling. Data collection was carried out between October
2023 and January 2024 using a sociodemographic/behavioral questionnaire and a form to assess
self-reported health problems. Data analysis was based on descriptive and inferential statistics,
supported by IBM SPSS software. Prevalence ratios and confidence intervals were calculated
using the chi-square and Fischer's exact association tests, considering significance when p-
value < 0.05. The study identified that the prevalence of multimorbidity among the elderly was
62.0%, being significantly associated with the area of residence (p=0.026), presence of a
caregiver (p=0.017), body mass index (p=0.048), smoking (p=0.015) and history of alcohol
consumption (p=0.032). With these findings, it is expected to collaborate with the survey of
hypotheses for new studies, as well as contribute to better health care conditions for the aging
population, with regard to the prevention of multimorbidity, as well as the effectiveness of
treatments for the elderly population with installed multimorbidity.
