Risk factors related to loss of labour productivity and increased cost of ambulatory patients treated for basic health units

Author(s)

Monique Yndawe Castanho Araujo

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Presidente Prudente. 2016-05-19.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia. Presidente Prudente
• Defense date: 2016-04-29
• Advisor: Jamile Sanches Codogno

Abstract

The increase in life expectancy is accompanied by economic and social consequences, which highlights the increase in chronic diseases and health spending. Noncommunicable chronic diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide and are present more intensely in the elderly, having as some of its risk factors, smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity and obesity. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the association between the aggregation of factors / risk behaviors to health and productivity loss and the raise on health care costs in adults treated at the Health System. Therefore, 342 patients were invited to join the study and were evaluated concerning the association of treatment costs in public primary health care services and productivity loss with factors / risk behaviors such as body fat, physical activity level, alcohol consumption and smoking, with outcome variables of chronic diseases such as sleep disorders and back pain; moreover, the gender and age of retirement. The factors / risk behaviors were aggregated to constitute a single risk variable, so the sample was subdivided into three groups: (i) no behavior / risk factor, (ii) one behavior / risk factor, (iii) 2 or more behaviors / risk factors and the degree of influence of each risk factor in productivity loss costs was checked separately and added to other risk factors. Statistical analysis was made by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Levene, Kruskal Wallis tests for comparison of three or more groups (Mann Whitney as post-hoc where necessary) and Mann Whitney test for comparison of two groups, chi-square test, binary logistic regression and HosmerLemeshow, the procedures were performed at 5.0 BioEstat program at 5% significance adopted. It was found that there was no association between aggregation of factors / risk behavior and expenses in public primary health care services but higher expenses were found for the variable sleep disorders, back pain, retirement age and sex. For risk factors and outcome variables it was observed that smoking (p = 0.023) and sleep disorders (p = 0.027) are associated with expenses on productivity loss by absenteeism. Costs on productivity loss by disability retirement were higher for patients with sleep disorders (p = 0.004) and low back pain (p = 0.001). The aggregation of risk factors such as, obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and smoking was associated with expenses on productivity loss disability retirement _ (p-value = 0.036) and it was observed that obesity places the patient in the highest quartile of productivity loss due to disability retirement OR = 2.47 [95% CI = 1:20 to 5:06]. It is concluded that factors and risk behaviors for noncommunicable chronic diseases as well as their outcome variables are associated with health expenses and loss of labor productivity in adults seen in the public primary health care service in the health system of the city of Presidente Prudente / SP. (AU)