Knowledge on the occurrence of multimorbidity is important from the viewpoint of public policies, as this condition increases the consumption of medicines as well as the utilization and expenses of health services, affecting life quality of the population. The objective of this study was to estimate prevalence of self-reported multimorbidity in Brazilian adults (≥18 years old) according to socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. A descriptive study is presented herein, based on data from the National Health Survey, which was a household-based survey carried out in Brazil in 2013. Data on 60,202 adult participants over the age of 18 were included. Prevalences and its respective confidence intervals (95%) were estimated according to sex, age, education level, marital status, self-reported skin color, area of residence, occupation and federative units (states). Poisson regression models univariate and multivariate were used to evaluate the association between socioeconomic and demographic variables with multimorbidity. To observe the combinations of chronic conditions the most common groups in pairs, trios, quartets and quintets of chronic diseases were observed. The prevalence of multimorbidity was 23.6% and was higher among women, in individuals over 60 years of age, people with low educational levels, people living with partner, in urban areas and among unemployed persons. The states of the South and Southeast regions presented higher prevalence. The most common groups of chronic diseases were metabolic and musculoskeletal diseases. The results demonstrated high prevalence of multimorbidity in Brazil. The study also revealed that a considerable share of the economically active population presented two or more chronic diseases. Data of this research indicated that socioeconomic and demographic aspects must be considered during the planning of health services and development of prevention and treatment strategies for chronic diseases, and consequently, multimorbidity.

Self-medication is frequent among the elderly, with different prevalence values found in the selected studies, probably because of heterogeneity in definitions and samples. Future studies are necessary, utilizing a standard self-medication criterion to facilitate comparison and elucidate the factors associated with this behaviour.

It is concluded that UI is a health issue that affects more than half of the institutionalized elderly, and is associated with white race, physical inactivity, stroke, and other geriatric syndromes such as immobility and cognitive disability.

It is paramount to expand the knowledge base and minimize the consequences of the pandemic caused by the new Coronavirus (SARS-Cov2). Spain is among the most affected countries that declared a countrywide lockdown. An ecological study is presented herein, assessing the trends for incidence, mortality, hospitalizations, Intensive Care Unit admissions, and recoveries per autonomous community in Spain. Trends were evaluated by the Joinpoint software. The timeframe employed was when the lockdown was declared on March 14, 2020. Daily percentage changes were also calculated, with CI = 95% and p<0.05. An increase was detected, followed by reduction, for the evaluated indicators in most of the communities. Approximately 18.33 days were required for the mortality rates to decrease. The highest mortality rate was verified in Madrid (118.89 per 100,000 inhabitants) and the lowest in Melilla (2.31). The highest daily percentage increase in mortality occurred in Catalonia. Decreasing trends were identified after approximately two weeks of the institution of the lockdown by the government. Immediately the lockdown was declared, an increase of up to 33.96% deaths per day was verified in Catalonia. In contrast, Ceuta and Melilla presented significantly lower rates because they were still at the early stages of the pandemic at the moment of lockdown. The findings presented herein emphasize the importance of early and assertive decision-making to contain the pandemic.

This study aimed to verify health self-perception, its prevalence and associated factors in institutionalized elderly

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RESUMOContexto: A análise da aquisição de uma habilidade motora através de instrumento simples e fácil pode auxiliar no diagnóstico e no tratamento fisioterapêutico. Objetivo: O estudo se propôs a verificar se o teste de labirinto pode ser utilizado como um instrumento de análise na aquisição de uma habilidade motora, através de medidas, tais como, tempo de execução e número de tentativas para estabilizar o desempenho, sob a influência de pistas visuais. Método: A amostra consistiu de 70 estudantes universitários saudáveis do sexo masculino, de 20 ± 2 anos, divididos em dois grupos que fizeram testes de labirinto com e sem pistas visuais. Foram realizadas 30 tentativas e dois testes de retenção. Os dados foram analisados pela ANOVA two-way de medidas repetidas (Newman-Keuls post hoc). Resultados: Verificou-se diferença significativa no tempo de execução entre as tentativas com estabilização do desempenho a partir da 8ª tentativa no labirinto sem pistas e da 6ª tentativa no labirinto com pistas, se mantendo após os testes de retenção. No teste de labirinto com pistas a estabilização ocorreu mais cedo e o tempo de execução do movimento foi maior. Conclusões: As evidências encontradas mostraram que o teste de labirinto permite identificar a quantidade adequada de prática para treinar uma habilidade motora e verificar a influência da pista visual na estabilização do desempenho, sugerindo um instrumento a ser utilizado na Fisioterapia.Palavras-chave: teste de labirinto, habilidade motora, aprendizagem motora. ABSTRACT Maze Test: Instrument for Analyzing the Acquisition of Motor SkillsBackground: Analysis of the acquisition of motor skills by means of a simple and easily used instrument may assist in physiotherapeutic diagnosis and treatment. Objective: To verify whether the maze test can be used as an instrument for analyzing the acquisition of motor skills, by means of measurements such as the time taken and number of attempts required for performance stabilization, under the influence of visual clues. Method: The sample consisted of 70 healthy male university students, aged 20 ± 2 years, divided into two groups that underwent maze tests with and without visual clues. Thirty attempts were made and two retention tests were performed. The data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA with repeated measurements (with post hoc Newman-Keuls test). Results: There were significant differences in the time taken between attempts, with performance stabilization from the eighth attempt in the maze without clues and from the sixth attempt in the maze with clues, and this was maintained after the retention tests. In the maze test with clues, stabilization occurred earlier and the time taken to perform the movement was greater. Conclusion: The evidence showed that the maze test enables identification of the appropriate quantity of practice for training motor skills and verifying the influence of visual clues on performance stabilization of performance, thereby suggesting that this instrument can be used in physical therapy.