Co-occurrence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus and simultaneous use of medications: Vigitel 2011 and 2021

Abstract

Objective: The risk of cardiovascular disease is about four times higher in patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and its early detection is important to reduce mortality. The aim of this study was to estimate the co-occurrence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and the use of medications for the concomitant treatment of both diseases, in the population ≥50 years of age, according to health insurance/medical plan ownership, according to sociodemographic characteristics, and comparing the years 2011 and 2021. Methods: Using data from the Vigitel survey, crude and adjusted prevalence and prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: The prevalence of concurrent diagnosis of these conditions was 11.3% (95%CI 10.5–12.2) and 14.3% (95%CI 13.2–15.4) in 2011 and 2021, respectively. There was an increase of 32% among users with health insurance (11.1% in 2011 vs. 13.8% in 2021) and 46% among SUS users (11.4% in 2011 vs. 14.7% in 2021). In this period, there was an increase in concomitant drug use for the whole population, from 81.4% (95%CI 78.2–84.2) to 89.8% (95%CI 87.0–92.0). This increase can be attributed to the use of diabetes medications in both strata. Conclusion: This study showed that the simultaneous prevalence of hypertension and diabetes and the use of medication for these diseases were similar between SUS users and health insurance users, overcoming possible inequalities between the groups in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.