Managing noncommunicable diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: findings from the PAMPA cohort

Abstract

The objective was to identify the impact of social distance in the management of noncommunicable diseases (NCD) in the adult population from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. This is an ambispective, population-based cohort study. Descriptive analysis and Poisson regression models were used and the results were reported as prevalence ratio and 95% confidence intervals. From a total of 1,288 participants, 43.1% needed medical care and 28.5% reported impaired management of NCDs during social distance. Female sex, age between 18 and 30 years old, living in the Serra region (central region of the state), people with depression and multimorbidity were more likely to have impaired management of NCDs. Being physically active reduced the probability of having impaired management of NCD by 15%. Reduced monthly income was associated with the difficulty in accessing prescription medicine and avoidance of seeking in-person medical assistance. Depression was associated with difficulties in accessing medications, while avoidance of seeking in-person medical assistance was more likely for people with multimorbidity, arthritis/arthrosis/fibromyalgia, heart disease, and high cholesterol.