A longitudinal study of the association between social capital and mortality in community-dwelling elderly Brazilians

Prevalence and Factors Associated With Out-of-Pocket Pharmaceutical Expenditure Among Primary Healthcare Patients: Evidence From the Prover Project

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of out-of-pocket pharmaceutical expenditure (OOPPE) among primary healthcare patients.

METHODS

The study is part of the Prover Project, an exit survey conducted in 2017 in a large city (population 234 937) in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. A representative sample of patients (n = 1219) from pharmaceutical services based on primary healthcare was selected. Three components of OOPPE were assessed: the general prevalence, the types of medicines purchased (medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases, medicines for the treatment of acute diseases, or herbal medicines), and coverage by the National Health System. The factors associated with OOPPE were examined applying a modified Andersen's behavioral model of health services use. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of OOPPE was 77%. Most patients who had OOPPE purchased medicines to treat chronic diseases (94%). In addition, these patients purchased medicines covered by public insurance but were out of stock (85%). OOPPE was associated with enabling factors, such as higher personal income (odds ratio [OR] 1.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-3.62), holding health insurance (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.01-1.95), and higher neighborhood trust (OR 1.34; 95% CI 1.01-1.79), and with need factors, that is, poorer perception of health (OR 1.63; 95% CI 1.20-2.21), multiple comorbidities (OR 1.70; 95% CI 1.18-2.46), and higher number of prescribed medicines (OR 2.84; 95% CI 1.90-4.26).

CONCLUSIONS

We found a high prevalence of OOPPE, identifying individuals more likely to incur these expenses. These findings are useful to inform policy makers from the healthcare system to plan and implement the needed interventions to protect primary care patients from this financial burden.

Risk of all-cause mortality and its association with health status in a cohort of community-dwelling older people: FIBRA study

This article aims to estimate the risk of death according to sociodemographic characteristics, chronic diseases, frailty, functional capacity, and social participation in older people as well as determine the median time of death in relation to health status and social participation. A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted with older people (≥65 years) in 2008-09 and 2016-17 in the city of Campinas and the subdistrict of Ermelino Matarazzo in the city of São Paulo. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at community centers and the participants' homes. The cumulative incidence of death was estimated and associations with the predictor variables were analyzed using Poisson multiple regression. The Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test were also used. Among the 741 individuals located at follow-up, 192 had deceased. The incidence of death was higher among those who reported having heart disease and those who were dependent on others regarding the performance of instrumental activities of daily living. The incidence of death was lower among women, individuals in the highest income stratum, and those who performed three or more activities related to social inclusion. No differences in median survival times were found. Predictors of mortality can contribute to broadening knowledge on the singularities of the aging process.

Social environment perception and associations with overweight in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil

The prevalence of overweight in Brazilian adults has grown in recent years. There is evidence indicating that environmental factors, especially social characteristics, may be involved in the aetiology of overweight, but few studies have investigated this association adequately. The main objective of this study was to identify residents' perception of their social environment (social cohesion, security and violence) and assess its relationship with overweight in a central area of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The associations between socioeconomic characteristics and social environment perception were also explored. This cross-sectional study conducted in 2018-19 had 400 participants aged from 20 to 70 years living in low- and high-income areas of the city of Porto Alegre. Participants' perception of social cohesion, security and violence were evaluated using a validated questionnaire. Participants' body mass index (BMI) was measured, and those with a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 were considered to be overweight. Unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated through Poisson regression analysis; level of significance was 5%. The prevalence of overweight in the sample was 68.8% (95% CI 64.0-73.2). Individuals with a more positive social cohesion perception had a higher prevalence of overweight (PR 1.06; 95% CI: 1.00-1.12; p=0.02) than those with a less positive perception. Brown individuals also had a higher prevalence of overweight (PR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.02-1.15; p=0.03) than those of other skin colour/race. No association was found between overweight and perception of security or violence. Therefore, social cohesion may be an important factor in overweight and the findings highlight the importance of considering social factors, and their perceptions, when planning actions for the prevention and control of overweight in a population.

Life weariness, suicidal thoughts and mortality: a sixteen-year longitudinal study among men and women older than 60 years

Background

Suicide in old age is a significant contributor to mortality. However, the extent to which life weariness and suicidal thoughts impact on mortality in a long-term perspective is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of life weariness and suicidal thoughts on long-term survival (16 years) in an older Swedish population, controlling for demographic and social network factors and depression. A further aim was to investigate differences in sex and age interactions in relation to mortality among individuals with and without life weariness and suicidal thoughts.

Methods

A longitudinal cohort study on a national, representative sample of individuals aged 60+ years was conducted within the Swedish National Study of Aging and Care study. The sample included 7213 individuals, who provided information about life weariness and suicidal thoughts through an item derived from the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Data were analysed with multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for potential confounders.

Results

At baseline, 12.5% of the participants (14.6% of females and 9.5% of males) reported life weariness and suicidal thoughts. During the 16-year follow-up, a mean survival time was 11.5 years (standard deviation (SD) 5.6), and 3804 individuals died (59.5% females and 40.5% males). Individuals with life weariness and suicidal thoughts had half the survival rate compared with those without such thoughts (24.5% vs. 50.6%), with a mean survival time of 8.4 years (SD 5.7) versus 12.0 years (SD 5.4). The multi-adjusted hazard ratio of mortality for those reporting life weariness and suicidal thoughts was 1.44 (95% confidence interval, 1.30–1.59), with the population attributable risk at 11.1%. In the models, being male or female 80+ years showed the highest multi-adjusted hazard ratio of long-term mortality (ref. female 60–69 years).

Conclusions

The findings suggested that life weariness and suicidal thoughts were risk factors for long-term mortality, when controlled for sex and age interactions that were found to strongly predict long-term mortality. These findings have practical implications in prevention of mortality, emphasising the importance of screening, identifying, and intercepting older men and women with signs of life weariness and suicidal thoughts.

Trial registration

Not applicable.

Social-capital determinants of the women with diabetes: a population-based study

Introduction

Social-capital level contributes to clinical factors and health outcomes of patients suffering from diabetes. Considering the social determinants of type 2 diabetes patients could benefit to prevention of diabetes complications especially in women population. This study aims to determine social capital determinants in women with diabetes.

Methods

Four hundred and thirty-five women with diabetes take-part in this cross-sectional, multi-centric study. The data was completed by a demographic questionnaire and the Social Capital instrument (SC-IQ). This study is investigating demographic (age, gender, BMI, marital, educational and social-economic status), and lifestyle factors (physical activity, nutrition), Diabetes status (HbA1c Level, medications, complications, duration of diabetes), general health status (life satisfaction, self-rated health, physical activity, and depression) and Social capital items (Value of life, Tolerance of Diversity, Neighborhood network, Family and Friends Connections, Work connections, Community participation, Feeling of trust and Safety and Proactivity). The descriptive statistics and linear regression models were used to assess the associations between social capital and determinants.

Results

The mean age of participants was 50 (SD: 7.7), range 28-71 year. The mean social capital score was 77.8 (SD: 15.8). In linear regression analysis, results showed that women who had the greater score in total social-capital (ß: 3.7, SE: 1.5) and Feeling of trust and Safety (ß: 0.87, SE: 0.42) had vigorous physical activity and also women who had greater score in Neighborhood Connections had moderate physical activity in comparison with patients who had low physical activity. (ß: 0.67, SE: 0.26 and ß: 0.61, SE: 0.26).Also, the findings showed that women who had had a lower score in total social-capital (ß: 6, SE: 1.47), Community participation (ß: 1.44, SE: 0.37), Value of life (ß: 1.71, SE: 0.24), Family and Friends Connections (ß: 0.88, SE: 0.25) and proactivity (ß: 0.71, SE: 0.25) had depression in comparison with patients who had no depression. The findings revealed that instead of each year increase in the duration of diabetes, the total social-capital score had decreased about the half score (ß: 0.48, SE: 0.21).

Conclusions

Important social factors that make diabetes control are alterable to health interventions. The results of the current study suggest that social capital status may determine how effectively the women with diabetes have been managed. This initial finding permits subsequent experimental investigations to identify social strategies that can be valuable to improve diabetes control.

All-cause mortality over a three-year period among community-dwelling older adults in Southern Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate all-cause mortality in approximately three years of follow-up and related sociodemographic, behavioral and health factors in community-dwelling older adults in Pelotas, RS.

METHODS

This was a longitudinal observational study that included 1,451 older adults (≥ 60 years) who were interviewed in 2014. Information on mortality was collected from their households in 2016-2017 and confirmed with the Epidemiological Surveillance department of the city and by documents from family members. Associations between mortality and independent variables were assessed by crude and multiple Cox regression, with hazard ratio with respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

RESULTS

Almost 10% (n = 145) of the participants died during an average of 2.5 years of follow-up, with a higher frequency of deaths among males (12.9%), ?80 years (25.2%), widowhood (15.0%), no education (13.8%) and who did not work (10.5%). Factors associated with higher mortality were: being a male (HR = 2.8; 95%CI 1.9 - 4.2), age ?80 years (HR = 3.9; 95%CI 2.4 - 6.2), widowhood (HR = 2.2; 95%CI 1.4 - 3.7), physical inactivity (HR = 2.3; 95%CI 1.1 - 4..6), current smoking (HR = 2.1; 95%CI 1.2 - 3.6), hospitalizations in the previous year (HR = 2.0; 95%CI 1.2 - 3.2), depressive symptoms (HR = 2.0; 95%CI 1.2 - 3,4) and dependence for two or more daily life activities (HR = 3.1; 95%CI 1,7 - 5.7).

CONCLUSION

The identification of factors that increased the risk of early death makes it possible to improve public policies aimed at controlling the modifiable risk factors that can lead to aging with a better quality of life.

Knowledge of prescribed drugs among primary care patients: findings from Prover Project

Background Evidence on patient medication knowledge and associated factors within primary care patients is limited, especially in developing countries. Objective To estimate the prevalence and investigate the role of individual and contextual factors on insufficient medication knowledge among primary care patients. Setting Public community pharmacies in a health pole city (234,937 inhab.) in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Methods Exit-survey conducted with a representative sample of 1221 patients (≥ 18 years) interviewed after dispensing. Data collected for medicines included its name, therapeutic indication, dosage, time of administration, treatment duration, side effects and warnings. Information were compared to the prescription and official guidelines. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were applied. Main outcome measure Insufficient patient medication knowledge. Results Prevalence of insufficient medication knowledge was 30.1%. Side effects (96.3%) and warnings (71.1%) had the highest percentage of misses. Musculoskeletal system drugs presented the lowest knowledge score (mean = 5.9; SD = 1.9). Significant determinants of insufficient medication knowledge with respective odds ratio (OR) were: level of education (≤ 3 years, OR 1.50; 95% CI 1.06-2.11 and 4-7 years, OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.02-1.84), number of comorbidities (≤ 2, OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.04-1.77), use of prescription drugs in the last 15 days (no, OR 2.22; 95% CI 1.31-3.76) and number of people able to lend money (no person, OR 1.34; 95% CI 1.04-1.74). Conclusion Counselling and monitoring practices should be tailored to patients with less schooling, that are initiating treatment and with low disease burden. Equally important is the need to implement strategies to increase the patient's level of social capital to improve treatment knowledge.

Social participation and self-assessment of health status among older people in Brazil

To estimate the prevalence of social participation (exposure) and its association with positive self-assessment of overall health status (SAH) (outcome) among 7,712 Brazilian elderly interviewed in the National Health Survey 2013. A cross-sectional study that used Propensity Score (PS) to improve comparability between the group exposed and no exposed to social participation. Poisson regression was performed to determine the prevalence and association of interest using crude and adjusted by inverse probability of selection of PS. Social participation was reported by 25.1% (CI95%: 23.4-26.9) and was lower among poor older people, who depend on public transportation and live in more precarious contexts. Most did not SAH positively, but the proportion was higher when they had social participation (48.0%; CI95%: 46.0-51.0). There was a positive association of social participation with SAH positive. The association using the adjusted model (PR: 1.15; CI95%: 1.08-1.22) attenuated the estimated in the crude model. Elderly exposed were 15% more likely to provide a positive SAH. Despite low levels in Brazil, there was a positive association between of social participation and SAH, confirming that engagement in such activities provides important gains for the health and quality of life.