Indication, access, and use of medicines for chronic respiratory diseases in Brazil: results from the National Survey on Access, Utilization, and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines in Brazil (PNAUM), 2014

The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-reported chronic respiratory diseases and the indication, access to, and use of medicines, as well as their sources, in the Brazilian adult population. Data were analyzed on adults 20 years and older from the National Survey on Access, Utilization, and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines in Brazil (PNAUM), conducted from September 2013 to February 2014. Prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases was 3% (95% CI: 2.7-3.3). Of these individuals, 58.1% (95% CI: 51.8-64.0) had an indication for pharmacological treatment. Of those with indication for treatment, 77.1% (95% CI: 71.0-82.8) were using at least one of the prescribed drugs. Total access to therapy was 91.4% (95% CI: 79.9-96.6), and more than half of individuals with chronic respiratory diseases purchased at least one of the drugs in retail pharmacies (57.3%). The most frequently reported drug class was the association of a corticosteroid plus a long-acting beta-2 agonist in inhalation form, the most common example of which was the association budesonide/formoterol (20.3%; 95% CI: 16.0-25.4). According to our study, prevalence of self-reported chronic respiratory diseases was lower than in previous studies published on the Brazilian population. Nearly half of the population reporting chronic respiratory diseases did not have an indication for pharmacological treatment. Among those with such indication, approximately one-fourth were not using medications during the study period, and for those who were on medication, although access was high, they had to pay for their medicines.