title: Risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases and the CARMEN Initiative: a population-based study in the South of Brazil.
abstract: The CARMEN Initiative is a strategy of the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization that proposes population-based interventions to reduce risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) by approaching them simultaneously. The present study aims to provide a baseline for further interventions by the CARMEN Initiative based on a cross-sectional population-based study of 3,100 adults (>20 years old) in Pelotas, a city in the South of Brazil. Prevalence of smoking, physical inactivity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and excess weight were studied and presented separately and aggregated in various combinations. The most frequent risk factor was physical inactivity (73.2%), followed by excess weight (48.1%). Women were less active and thinner than men. More than half of the sample showed two or three risk factors (53.4%). The combination of physical inactivity and excess weight was observed in 34.7% of the sample, while 10.8% presented physical inactivity, excess weight, and hypertension concurrently. The accumulation of risk factors for CNCD is frequent in the study population and the identification of the most common combinations is essential for planning future interventions.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brasil. capilheira@brturbo.com.br
authors.forename: Marcelo Fernandes
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Capilheira
authors.forename: Iná S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Mario Renato
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.forename: Felipe Fossati
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Reichert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014505:Urban Population