Noncommunicable chronic diseases clusters in Brazilian adults and older adults: correlations as multimorbidity

Abstract Background Health has dynamic conditions and overlapping pathophysiological factors. For health prevention and promotion, actions are necessary to understand the most common risk combinations. Objective Describe noncommunicable chronic diseases (NCDs) clusters and investigate specific multimorbidity combinations in Brazilian adults and older adults. Method This study used data from Vigitel 2013 survey held in the Brazilian capitals (52,929 interviews). A self-report of diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity was used. The analyses were the descriptive cluster of NCDs and an adjusted binary logistic regression (odds ratio [OR]), stratified by age. Results Among adults, the clusters of diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity (O/E = 18.74) and diabetes, hypertension, and obesity (O/E = 16.83) were higher. There was a higher clustering between diabetes and obesity (O/E = 7.25). Among adults, diabetes was associated with dyslipidemia (OR: 3.04), hypertension (OR: 3.84), and hypertension with obesity (OR: 3.34). In older adults, hypertension was associated with diabetes (OR: 2.79), dyslipidemia (OR: 2.06), and obesity (OR: 2.26). Conclusion Other diseases combined with diabetes and hypertension were more frequent in adults and older adults. It is suggested to combine preventive and control measures for these diseases for the non-occurrence of new diagnoses.