Chronic diseases, sedentary life and pharmacological therapy in the elderly population of a UBS in the Northern Brazil

Introduction: Over the years, the Brazilian population has undergone an aging process, which is accompanied by an increase in the prevalence and worsening of chronic diseases. Among the chronic diseases that most affect the elderly, hypertension and diabetes stand out, and consequently, patients use polypharmacy. Objective: carry out the sociodemographic and clinical characterization of elderly people treated/registered at a Basic Health Unit in Boa Vista/RR. Methods: This is an analytical observational cross-sectional study, obtaining clinical data (sociodemographic information, anthropometric data, systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, blood glucose, drugs used/categories) collected from the medical records of 74 elderly people in the UBS September 13th. Data analysis was performed using Student's t test and Pearson's correlation test, with a significance level of 5%. Results: Most seniors were overweight (47.29%), were sedentary (81.08%) and had some chronic disease (86.48%). Among the differential diagnoses, the most common was isolated hypertension (21.62%). Most patients (48.64%) use around 3 to 4 medications, and the frequency is higher in women than in men. Systemic and diastolic blood pressure and blood glucose were directly proportional to the number of drugs. Conclusion: It is noteworthy that the number of elderly people who are overweight, sedentary and diagnosed with a chronic disease is alarming and demonstrates the importance of monitoring this population in order to avoid serious complications of these diseases, and that this group is related to polypharmacy.