Multimorbidity in the elderly of an educational program in Brazilian capital: A cross-sectional study.

Population aging generated changes in the epidemiological profile and culminated in a high frequency of diseases. The objective of this study was estimating the prevalence of multimorbidity and the associated variables in the elderly of an educational program in the Federal District of Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with data collection carried out during the period from December 2022 to April 2023 by means of telephone calls. Multimorbidity was defined as a concomitant presence of 2 or more noncommunicable chronic diseases. One-hundred fifty individuals aged between 60 and 82 years old participated in the study. The median number of self-reported diseases was 2, ranging from 0 to 9. The estimated prevalence of multimorbidity was 69.3%, being higher among elderly individuals self-reporting their health as regular or bad/or very bad, having systemic arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, hypothyroidism, overweight/obesity, and depression, including polypharmacy (P < .05). The high rate of multimorbidity and associated variables shows the importance of an integrated approach on health services focused on promoting health and preventing health impairment to favor the quality of life during aging.