Metrics details. Chronic non-communicable diseases NCDs are the leading cause of multimorbidity. This constitutes the main barrier to coping with NCDs, especially in minimising the suffering of those who are already sick.
The present study aimed to identify the relationship between multimorbidity and the use of different health services in Brazil from to This is a panel study using data from the health supplement of the National Household Sample Survey of , and and data from the National Health Survey carried out in Three health service utilization outcomes were considered: 1. Multimorbidity was assessed by counting the number of morbidities from a list of 10 morbidities.
The prevalence of hospitalisations has decreased over the study period and increased twofold in individuals with multimorbidity. Having multimorbidity increased the use of health services for the three outcomes under the study, being more expressive among men. This study found that individuals with multimorbidity have higher levels of use of health services. Better understand the multimorbidity epidemiology and the associated impacts on the use and costs of health services can increase the quality of care provided to these patients and reduce rising health care costs.
Peer Review reports. Chronic non-communicable diseases NCDs are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and approximately three-quarters of deaths due to NCDs occur in low and middle-income countries [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. A challenge for reducing the disease burden of NCDs, multimorbidity is defined as the coexistence of two or more chronic conditions in the same individual [ 4 ]. A recent systematic review estimated the combined global prevalence of multimorbidity to be In high-income countries, the prevalence of multimorbidity was In Brazil, the prevalence of multimorbidity was estimated at Recent studies have shown that multimorbidity is associated with increased disability and functional decline, reduced well-being and quality of life, and disproportionately higher levels of use of health services with high costs out-of-pocket [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].
Currently, the main health care model is focused on the disease rather than the person, therefore, the participation of different caregivers in the management of multiple conditions is inevitable and often results in competing treatments, ill coordination, and inefficient communication between patients and providers, and even unnecessary replication of diagnostic tests or treatments [ 14 , 15 , 16 ].
