Prevalence and social distribution of risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases in Brazil

Abstract

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 useoverweight 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 capitalsand 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. ResultsMen 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 increasedsedentary lifestyle. ConclusionIn 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.