Noncommunicable diseases and changes in lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

Excess mortality in adults from Sao Paulo during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: analyses of all-cause and noncommunicable diseases mortality

In this study, we estimated the excess mortality from all-causes of death and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in adults living in the state of São Paulo during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Number of deaths were retrieved from the Mortality Information System before (2017-2019) and during (2020) the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the following underlying causes of death: Neoplasms; Diabetes Mellitus; Circulatory System Diseases, and Respiratory System Diseases. Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) were calculated by dividing the mortality rates in 2020 by average mortality rates in 2017-2019, according to sex, age group, geographic location (state, capital, and Regional Health Departments). In 2020, occurred 341,704 deaths in the state of São Paulo vs 290,679 deaths in 2017-2019, representing an 18% increase in all-cause mortality (SMR 1.18) or 51,025 excess deaths during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic. The excess mortality was higher in men (186,741 deaths in 2020 vs 156,371 deaths in 2017-2019; SMR 1.18; 30,370 excess deaths) compared to women (154,963 deaths in 2020 vs 134,308 deaths in 2017-2019; SMR 1.15; 20,655 excess deaths). Regarding NCDs mortality, we observed a reduction in cancer mortality (SMR 0.98; -1,354 deaths), diseases of the circulatory system (SMR 0.95; -4,277 deaths), and respiratory system (SMR 0.88; -1,945). We found a 26% increase in Diabetes Mellitus mortality (SMR 1.26; 2885 deaths) during the pandemic year. Our findings corroborate the need to create and strengthen policies aimed at the prevention and control of NCDs, in order to mitigate the impact of future infectious disease pandemics.

Prevalence and incidence of insufficient physical activity in Brazilian adolescents during the pandemic: data from ConVid Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the prevalence and incidence of insufficient physical activity in Brazilian adolescents and identify the most affected subgroups during the pandemic.

METHODS

This study used data from the "ConVid Adolescents - Behavior Survey", which evaluated the behavior of 9,470 Brazilian adolescents during the period of social restriction due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, through a self-administered online questionnaire. Participants were invited through a virtual "snowball" sampling procedure. Information was reported on the frequency of physical activity before and during the pandemic. The exposure variables used were gender, age group, race/skin color, region of Brazil, type of school, maternal education, financial difficulties during the pandemic, and social restrictions. Logistic regression models were used.

RESULTS

Adolescents engaged in less physical activity during the pandemic, as the prevalence of insufficient physical activity increased from 71.3% in the previous period to 84.3% during the pandemic. The incidence of insufficient physical activity during the pandemic was 69.6%. The subgroups of adolescents most affected were those who self-declared as black or with dark skin color, reported financial difficulties during the pandemic, lived in the Southeast and South regions of the country, and practiced intense or complete social distancing.

CONCLUSION

High incidences of insufficient physical activity were observed among Brazilian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is recommended that further studies explore periods after those analyzed to identify the behavioral dynamics of adolescents upon returning to in-person activities.

Adherence to school meals and co-occurrence of the healthy and unhealthy food markers among Brazilian adolescents

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between adherence to school meals and the co-occurrence of the regular consumption of healthy and unhealthy eating markers among Brazilian adolescents. Data from 67,881 adolescents in Brazilian public schools who participated in the 2015 National School Health Survey, were used. From the 7-day FFQ, the dependent variable was constructed, co-occurrence of regular consumption (≥ 5x/week) of healthy and unhealthy food markers, which was categorized as regular consumption of none, one or two, or three eating markers. We performed an ordinal logistic regression with adjustment for sociodemographic, eating habits outside of school, and school characteristics variables. The prevalence of the co-occurrence of the regular consumption of three healthy eating markers was 14.5%, and that of three unhealthy markers was 4.9%. High adherence to school meals (every day) was positively associated with regular consumption of healthy eating markers and inversely associated with regular consumption of unhealthy eating markers. The school meals provided by PNAE contribute to the promotion of healthy eating habits among Brazilian adolescents.

Social distancing, emotional suffering, and cognitive performance in mature and older adults: a literature review

Variables related to social distancing can have negative effects on the emotional well-being and cognition of adults and the elderly.

Objective

The aim of this study was to analyze the available studies that address the relationship between situations of social distancing, socioemotional aspects, and cognition in the lives of mature and older adults.

Methods

A literature review study was carried out between December 2021 and January 2022, involving the SciELO, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases, with studies published between February 2018 and December 2021.

Results

A total of 754 studies were identified, and after selection, 18 were included. Notably, 16 showed significant effects of social distancing on cognition and socioemotional aspects, that is, the greater the social distancing, the lower the capacity for cognitive performance and the higher the index of symptoms of depression and anxiety, for example.

Conclusions

Greater engagement in social activities and a closer contact with friends and family are protective factors against symptoms of depression and anxiety and cognitive decline.

Factors Associated with the Lifestyle of Pediatric Healthcare Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The objective of this study was to analyze the association between sociodemographic and occupational variables with the lifestyle of health professionals in pediatric units during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 407 health professionals working in four pediatric health units in the State of Bahia, northeast Brazil. The Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire and a questionnaire with sociodemographic and employment variables self-applied via Google Forms were used. The final binary logistic regression models revealed significant associations between those who received 3 to 5 minimum wages, without a marital relationship and with more than one employment relationship. Data suggest that these sociodemographic and occupational profiles are more exposed to risky lifestyle behaviors. The findings of this study demonstrated the need for greater attention to the health of health professionals in the pediatric field, as well as the promotion of initiatives that seek to value the work of these professionals and reduce the damage caused to their lifestyle, especially in a pandemic scenario.

Multimorbidity Patterns and Their Association with Social Determinants, Mental and Physical Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

The challenge posed by multimorbidity makes it necessary to look at new forms of prevention, a fact that has become heightened in the context of the pandemic. We designed a questionnaire to detect multimorbidity patterns in people over 50 and to associate these patterns with mental and physical health, COVID-19, and possible social inequalities.

METHODS

This was an observational study conducted through a telephone interview. The sample size was 1592 individuals with multimorbidity. We use Latent Class Analysis to detect patterns and SF-12 scale to measure mental and physical quality-of-life health. We introduced the two dimensions of health and other social determinants in a multinomial regression model.

RESULTS

We obtained a model with five patterns (entropy = 0.727): 'Relative Healthy', 'Cardiometabolic', 'Musculoskeletal', 'Musculoskeletal and Mental', and 'Complex Multimorbidity'. We found some differences in mental and physical health among patterns and COVID-19 diagnoses, and some social determinants were significant in the multinomial regression.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified that prevention requires the location of certain inequalities associated with the multimorbidity patterns and how physical and mental health have been affected not only by the patterns but also by COVID-19. These findings may be critical in future interventions by health services and governments.

Characterization of primary health care for patients with diabetes based on the PMAQ-AB

Abstract This article aims to present a proposal for making the instruments used in the three cycles of the PMAQ-AB compatible and to analyze the information on access, coverage, structure, organization and provision of services in PHC related to care for DM in Brazil, according to regions, from the perspective of family health professionals and users. We performed an analysis of the degree of compatibility of the PMAQ-AB questions (2012, 2014 and 2017). To analyze the temporal evolution of the components, we performed a proportion difference test. We calculated the percentage difference between the perspective of professionals and users, per year analyzed, for Brazil. In general, there was an improvement in the quality of care and examinations, except for the diabetic foot. Worse results were found for the North region in relation to the other regions. Despite the structural improvement and the quality of care reported by professionals, there are significant gaps in the quality of care for patients with DM in the SUS. In the scenario of scarce investment added to the growing prevalence of DM, obstacles become progressively more challenging. Therefore, monitoring and evaluating the quality of services provided are essential tasks of the Brazilian Health System.

Characterization of primary health care for patients with diabetes based on the PMAQ-AB

This article aims to present a proposal for making the instruments used in the three cycles of the PMAQ-AB compatible and to analyze the information on access, coverage, structure, organization and provision of services in PHC related to care for DM in Brazil, according to regions, from the perspective of family health professionals and users. We performed an analysis of the degree of compatibility of the PMAQ-AB questions (2012, 2014 and 2017). To analyze the temporal evolution of the components, we performed a proportion difference test. We calculated the percentage difference between the perspective of professionals and users, per year analyzed, for Brazil. In general, there was an improvement in the quality of care and examinations, except for the diabetic foot. Worse results were found for the North region in relation to the other regions. Despite the structural improvement and the quality of care reported by professionals, there are significant gaps in the quality of care for patients with DM in the SUS. In the scenario of scarce investment added to the growing prevalence of DM, obstacles become progressively more challenging. Therefore, monitoring and evaluating the quality of services provided are essential tasks of the Brazilian Health System.

O uso do core set da CIF para avaliação de pacientes com distúrbios cardiorrespiratórios

Introdução: A Classificação Internacional de Funcionalidade, Incapacidade e Saúde (CIF) categoriza a saúde e deficiência do indivíduo considerando a funcionalidade e os fatores contextuais. No entanto, a CIF apresenta muitas categorias que dificultam o seu uso diário e, por isso, foram criados os core sets. Entre os diversos core sets propostos, existe um core set para condições cardiorrespiratórias pós-agudas. Objetivo: classificar os pacientes com alterações cardíacas, respiratórias e mistas, assistidos ambulatoriais por meio de um core sets para esta população, além de verificar se existem diferenças entre os grupos na aplicação deste core set. Métodos: Foram avaliados indivíduos com diagnóstico clínico de doenças cardiorrespiratórias em acompanhamento fisioterapêutico ambulatorial para reabilitação cardiopulmonar. A amostra foi dividida em três grupos: cardíacos, respiratórios e mistos. Os pacientes foram avaliados por meio da versão abreviada do core set para condições cardiorrespiratórios pós-agudas, funcionalidade, força de preensão palmar e dos músculos respiratórios. Resultados: A amostra foi composta por 67 indivíduos alocados de acordo com seu comprometimento. Verificou-se que apenas as funções de energia e impulso, cardíaca e de ingestão, estrutura do sistema respiratório e a atividade andar apresentaram respostas significativamente diferentes entres os grupos. Pacientes com distúrbios respiratórios, cardíacos e mistos apresentam perfis funcionais semelhantes, porém as categorias com diferença desse perfil foram as relacionadas ao sistema respiratório, atividades e funções relacionadas ao aumento da demanda metabólica como andar. Conclusão: Assim é possível afirmar que o core set auxilia a identificar as disfunções dos pacientes sem depender se sua disfunção é cardíaca, respiratória ou mista que pode ser uma ferramenta utilizada no meio clínico.

Self-reported diabetes and factors associated with it in the Brazilian adult population: National Health Survey, 2019

This study aims to analyze the prevalence of self-reported diabetes and its associated factors in the Brazilian adult population. It is a cross-sectional study using the 2019 National Health Survey. Prevalence and crude prevalence ratios (PRc) and adjusted prevalence ratios (PRa) of self-reported diabetes were estimated, with confidence intervals (95% CI), using Poisson regression. In the 82,349 adults, the prevalence of self-reported diabetes was 7.7%. Positively associated factors were: advanced age with greater association after 60 years (PRa 24.87; 95%CI 15.78-39.18); living in the Northeast (PRa 1.16; 95%CI 1.04-1.29), Southeast (PRa 1.27; 95% CI 1.14-1.43), South (PRa 1.18; 95%CI 1, 05-1.34), and Midwest (PRa 1.21; 95%CI 1.06-1.38); being a former smoker (PRa 1.17; 95%CI 1.09-1.27); self-assessment of regular health (PRa 2.41; 95%CI 2.21-2.64), bad/very bad (PRa 3.45; 95%CI 3.06-3.88); having heart disease (PRa 1.81; 95%CI 1.64-2.00), hypertension (PRa 2.84; 95%CI 2.60-3.69), high cholesterol (PRa 2.22; 95%CI 2.05-2.41), overweight (PRa 1.49; 95%CI 1.36-1.64), and obesity (PRa 2.25; 95%CI 2.05-2.47). It could be concluded that diabetes in Brazilian adults is associated with sociodemographic factors, aging, lifestyle, and morbidities. These results can guide public policies for the prevention and control of disease in Brazil.

Covid-19 in Brazil in 2020: impact on deaths from cancer and cardiovascular diseases

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on mortality from cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as underlying cause and comorbidity in Brazil and Brazilian regions in 2020.

METHODS

We used the 2019 and 2020 databases of the Mortality Information System (SIM) to analyze deaths occurring between March and December of each year that had cancer or CVD as the underlying cause or comorbidity. Deaths from covid-19 in 2020 were also analyzed. To estimate the Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) and the excess of deaths, 2019 data were considered as standard.

RESULTS

Between March and December 2020, there were 181,377 deaths from cancer and 291,375 deaths from cardiovascular diseases in Brazil, indicating reduction rates of 9.7% and 8.8%, respectively, compared to the same period of the previous year. The pattern was maintained in the five Brazilian regions, with lower variation for cancer (-8.4% in the South to -10.9% in the Midwest). For CVD, the variation was greater, from -2.2% in the North to -10.5 in the Southeast and South. In the same period of 2020, these diseases were classified as comorbidities in 18,133 deaths from cancer and 188,204 deaths from cardiovascular diseases, indicating a proportional excess compared to data from 2019, of 82.1% and 77.9%, respectively. This excess was most significant in the Northern Region, with a ratio of 2.5 between observed and expected deaths for the two conditions studied.

CONCLUSIONS

Excess deaths from cancer and CVD as comorbidities in 2020 may indicate that covid-19 had an important impact among patients with these conditions.

Self-reported diabetes and factors associated with it in the Brazilian adult population: National Health Survey, 2019

Abstract This study aims to analyze the prevalence of self-reported diabetes and its associated factors in the Brazilian adult population. It is a cross-sectional study using the 2019 National Health Survey. Prevalence and crude prevalence ratios (PRc) and adjusted prevalence ratios (PRa) of self-reported diabetes were estimated, with confidence intervals (95% CI), using Poisson regression. In the 82,349 adults, the prevalence of self-reported diabetes was 7.7%. Positively associated factors were: advanced age with greater association after 60 years (PRa 24.87; 95%CI 15.78-39.18); living in the Northeast (PRa 1.16; 95%CI 1.04-1.29), Southeast (PRa 1.27; 95% CI 1.14-1.43), South (PRa 1.18; 95%CI 1, 05-1.34), and Midwest (PRa 1.21; 95%CI 1.06-1.38); being a former smoker (PRa 1.17; 95%CI 1.09-1.27); self-assessment of regular health (PRa 2.41; 95%CI 2.21-2.64), bad/very bad (PRa 3.45; 95%CI 3.06-3.88); having heart disease (PRa 1.81; 95%CI 1.64-2.00), hypertension (PRa 2.84; 95%CI 2.60-3.69), high cholesterol (PRa 2.22; 95%CI 2.05-2.41), overweight (PRa 1.49; 95%CI 1.36-1.64), and obesity (PRa 2.25; 95%CI 2.05-2.47). It could be concluded that diabetes in Brazilian adults is associated with sociodemographic factors, aging, lifestyle, and morbidities. These results can guide public policies for the prevention and control of disease in Brazil.

Ontology-Based Reasoning for Educational Assistance in Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases

Noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs) affect a large part of the population. With the emergence of COVID-19, its most severe cases impact people with NCDs, increasing the mortality rate. For this reason, it is necessary to develop personalized solutions to support healthcare considering the specific characteristics of individuals. This paper proposes an ontology to represent the knowledge of educational assistance in NCDs. The purpose of ontology is to support educational practices and systems oriented towards preventing and monitoring these diseases. The ontology is implemented under Protégé 5.5.0 in Ontology Web Language (OWL) format, and defined competency questions, SWRL rules, and SPARQL queries. The current version of ontology includes 138 classes, 31 relations, 6 semantic rules, and 575 axioms. The ontology serves as a NCDs knowledge base and supports automatic reasoning. Evaluations performed through a demo dataset demonstrated the effectiveness of the ontology. SWRL rules were used to define accurate axioms, improving the correct classification and inference of six instantiated individuals. As a scientific contribution, this study presents the first ontology for educational assistance in NCDs.