000129488 001__ 129488 000129488 005__ 20250612142454.0 000129488 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1186/s12913-023-10158-7 000129488 0248_ $$2sideral$$a135747 000129488 037__ $$aART-2023-135747 000129488 041__ $$aeng 000129488 100__ $$aMahuela, Liliana 000129488 245__ $$aUse of health services and medication use, new comorbidities, and mortality in patients with chronic diseases who did not contract COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic: a retrospective study and comparison by sex 000129488 260__ $$c2023 000129488 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000129488 5203_ $$aBackground The restrictions introduced to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus have also had a direct impact on people with chronic diseases and especially on diseases to which lifestyles are relevant in their control and management, such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), etc. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a longitudinal analysis of new comorbidities, mortality, medication use, and the use of health resources in patients with chronic diseases who did not contract COVID-19, comparing the six months before the strict lockdown to the 12 months following the end of the strict lockdown. Method An observational real world data pre-post study of 668,974 people was undertaken. The patients studied were over 16 years of age, had been receiving care from the Aragon Health Service (Northeastern Spain), were diagnosed with one or more chronic diseases, and had not contracted COVID-19. Sociodemographic, comorbidity, pharmacological and health resource use variables were collected during the six months before the onset of the lockdown and during the six and 12 months following the end of the lockdown. The comparisons by sex were carried out using a Student T-test or chi-squared test to analyse differences. Results Dyslipidaemia (42.1%) followed by hypertension (35.1%) and anxiety and depression (34.6%) were the most prevalent chronic diseases among the study population. 78.% of patients had between one and four chronic illnesses. There was a decrease in new diagnoses of other chronic comorbidities in this population and a decrease in medications prescribed and the use of health services. Although women received more diagnoses of chronic diseases, the number of medications dispensed was lower, but the use of health services was higher. These figures were maintained throughout the pandemic. Conclusion Our results suggest an underdiagnosis of new chronic comorbidities and a decrease in mortality rates from causes unrelated to COVID-19 due to the closure of health centres in Aragón (Spain) during the lockdown. This trend was exacerbated in women. The underdiagnosis of new chronic comorbidities during confinement can cause the disease to worsen, with the consequent increase in symptoms and the worsening of chronic pathologies in patients with a severe evolution. 000129488 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/B21-23R-GAIAP 000129488 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby$$uhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ 000129488 590__ $$a2.7$$b2023 000129488 592__ $$a1.029$$b2023 000129488 591__ $$aHEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES$$b60 / 174 = 0.345$$c2023$$dQ2$$eT2 000129488 593__ $$aHealth Policy$$c2023$$dQ1 000129488 594__ $$a4.4$$b2023 000129488 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 000129488 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0001-6565-9699$$aOliván-Blázquez, Bárbara$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000129488 700__ $$aLear-Claveras, Ana 000129488 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-6409-9041$$aMéndez-López, Fátima$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000129488 700__ $$aSamper-Pardo, Mario 000129488 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-1200-5904$$aLeón-Herrera, Sandra$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000129488 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-5494-6550$$aMagallón-Botaya, Rosa$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000129488 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0001-8756-114X$$aSánchez-Calavera, María Antonia$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000129488 7102_ $$11006$$2255$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Fisiatría y Enfermería$$cÁrea Enfermería 000129488 7102_ $$14009$$2740$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Psicología y Sociología$$cÁrea Psicología Social 000129488 7102_ $$11007$$2610$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Medicina, Psiqu. y Derm.$$cArea Medicina 000129488 773__ $$g23, 1 (2023), 1364 [12 pp.]$$pBMC HEALTH SERV RES$$tBMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH$$x1472-6963 000129488 8564_ $$s1180658$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/129488/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada 000129488 8564_ $$s2107160$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/129488/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada 000129488 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:129488$$particulos$$pdriver 000129488 951__ $$a2025-06-12-14:23:38 000129488 980__ $$aARTICLE