title: Gender and schooling inequalities in risk and protective factors for chronic diseases among Brazilian adults, through telephone survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess risk and protective factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCD) and to identify social inequalities in their distribution among Brazilian adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data used were collected in 2007 through VIGITEL, an ongoing population-based telephone survey. This surveillance system was implemented in all of the Brazilian State capitals, over 54,000 interviews were analyzed. Age-adjusted prevalence ratios for trends at different schooling levels were calculated using Poisson regression with linear models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These analyses have shown differences in the prevalence of risk and protective factors for CNCD by gender and schooling. Among men, the prevalence ratios of overweight, consumption of meat with visible fat, and dyslipidemia were higher among men with more schooling, while tobacco use, sedentary lifestyle, and high-blood pressure were lower. Among women, tobacco use, overweight, obesity, high-blood pressure and diabetes were lower among men with more schooling, and consumption of meat with visible fat and sedentary lifestyles were higher. As for protective factors, fruit and vegetables intake and physical activity were higher in both men and women with more schooling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gender and schooling influence on risk and protective factors for CNCD, being the values less favorable for men. VIGITEL is a useful tool for monitoring these factors amongst the Brazilian population.
authors: Coordenação Geral de Doenças e Agravos Não-transmissíveis, Departamento de Análise de Situação de Saúde, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Brasil. deborah.malta@saude.gov.br
authors: Deborah Carvalho
authors: DC
authors: Malta
authors: Erly Catarina
authors: EC
authors: Moura
authors: Otaliba Libanio
authors: OL
authors: de Morais Neto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013689:Telephone; D055815:Young Adult