Multimorbilidad en personas de 60 años y más en relación a factores sociodemográficos: análisis de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud de Panamá, 2019.

Knewjen Quintana, Hedley; Moreno Velásquez, Ilais; Niño, Cecilio; Gómez, Beatriz; Motta, Jorge; Roa, Reina

Introduction: Multimorbidity, defined as the coexistence of two or more chronic conditions in an individual, has emerged as a significant public health challenge worldwide. Multimorbidity is associated with decreased quality of life, increased health care use, and higher mortality rates. Objective: To assess the prevalence of multimorbidity and possible risk factors in older adults in Panama. Materials and Methods: Using data from the Panama National Health Survey (ENSPA) 2019, a cross-sectional study, we included participants who were divided into two groups: 40-59 years (n: 1,377; N: 250,354) and those ≥ 60 years (n: 1,001; N: 213,624). Thirty-one morbidities were self-reported; but for hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and chronic kidney disease, objective measurements (blood pressure, anthropometry, or laboratory tests) were also used. Demographic variables were selected by an analysis of the current literature using a directed acyclic plot performed by the large language model “Claude 3.5 Sonnet”. Multimorbidity was assessed by crude and adjusted logistic regression models using the suggested sociodemographic variables generating odds ratios (OR) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: The weighted prevalence of multimorbidity in participants ≥ 60 years was 75.2% (95% CI: 70.9%-79.5%). Participants ≥ 60 years were at higher risk of developing multimorbidity (OR: 3.45; 95% CI: 2.45-4.85) than participants aged 40-59 years, as were women (OR: 2.38; 95% CI: 1.74-2.35). The indigenous area had a lower risk (OR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.12-0.37) than the urban area. Conclusions: This study describes the prevalence of multimorbidity in older adults in Panama. Identifying multimorbidity improves the medical care of patients with a rational use of resources.

PANAMA (Panama); LANGUAGE models; MEDICAL care; MEDICAL care use; CHRONIC kidney failure; OLDER people

Revista Médica de Panamá, 2024, Vol 44, Issue 3, p155

0379-1629

Academic Journal

10.37980/im.journal.rmdp.20252457