Prevalence and social distribution of risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases in Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To assess risk factors for chronic noncommunicable disease (CND) and to identity social inequalities in their distribution among the adult Brazilian population.


METHODS
Study of CND risk factors (including tobacco use, overweight and obesity, low fruit and vegetable intake (LFVI), insufficient leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), sedentary lifestyle, and alcohol abuse, among other risks) in a probabilistic sample of 54 369 individuals from Brazil's 26 state capitals and Federal District, in 2006, using the Surveillance System of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases through Telephone Interviews (VIGITEL), a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) survey system, and calculated age-adjusted prevalence ratios for trends in education levels using Poisson regression with linear models.


RESULTS
Men reported higher tobacco use, overweight, LFVI, sedentary lifestyle, and alcohol abuse versus women, but lower insufficient LTPA. In men, education was associated with increased overweight and sedentary lifestyle, but decreased tobacco use, LFVI, and insufficient LTPA. Among women, education was associated with decreased tobacco use, overweight, obesity, LFVI, and insufficient LTPA, but increased sedentary lifestyle.


CONCLUSIONS
In Brazil, prevalence of CND risk factors (except insufficient LTPA) is higher in men. For both sexes, the CND risk factor prevalence ratio is influenced by level of education.
Moura
Erly Catarina
EC
Núcleo de Pesquisas Epidemiológicas em Nutrição e Saúde da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. erly.moura@saude.gov.br
Malta
Deborah Carvalho
DC
de Morais Neto
Otaliba Libânio
OL
Monteiro
Carlos Augusto
CA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult