Gender inequalities in external cause mortality in Brazil, 2010.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate mortality rate by external causes in Brazil. METHODS: Mortality national 2010's data corrected by underreport and adjusted by direct method were evaluated by sex according to age, region of residence, race/skin color, education and conjugal situation. RESULTS: The standardized mortality coefficient of external causes is higher among men (178 per thousand inhabitants) than among women (24 per thousand inhabitants), being higher among young men (20 to 29 years old) in all regions and decreasing with aging. The mortality rate reaches almost nine times higher among men comparably to women, being higher in North and Northeast regions. The death incidence by external causes is higher among men (36.4%) than among women (10.9%), meaning 170% more risk for men. The risk is also higher among the youngest: 6.00 for men and 7.36 for women. The main kind of death by external causes among men is aggressions, followed by transport accidents, the opposite of women. CONCLUSIONS: Besides sex, age is the more important predictive factor of precocious death by external causes, pointing the need of many and various sectors in order to construct new identities of non violence.

Factors associated with the feeding practices of the adult population of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.

This cross-sectional study identified the factors associated with adult feeding practices in Goiânia, the capital of the state of Goiás, in the Midwestern region of Brazil, by means of telephone interviews with 2,002 adults (> 18 years old). Information about demographic aspects, lifestyle, nutritional status, and food consumption was collected, leading to a sum of healthy food choices. It was observed that men and women have an average of two healthy food choices and low frequency of fruit intake (5.4% of men; 8.5% of women), as well as the consumption of legumes and vegetables (18.1% of men; 22.6% of women). The hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that the mean healthy food choice among men increases with age and physical practice, and among women, with paid work. The prevalence of unhealthy food choices associated with other risk behaviors favors the development of chronic diseases. Multi-strategy and intersectorial actions are necessary to overcome this situation.

Risk and protection factors for chronic non communicable diseases by telephone survey--VIGITEL-2009.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the risk and protection factors for non communicable diseases with data from Telephone-based Surveillance of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases (VIGITEL) in 2009. METHODOLOGY: The prevalence of main risk and protective factors was estimated in adults (>18 years old), by telephone surveys in a probabilistic sample of the population covered by landline telephones in Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District, stratified by gender, age and schooling. RESULTS: Data from 54,367 adults were collected. Smokers and former smokers represented 15.5 and 22% of Brazilian adults, respectively. Excess weight affected 46.6% of adults; 33% reported the consumption of meat with visible fat and reported 18.9% alcohol abuse. These factors were more prevalent among men and, in general, young adults and people with low schooling. The prevalence of physical activity in leisure was 18.8% (95%CI 17.4-20.1) among men and 11.3% (95%CI 10.6-12.0) among women. Physical inactivity affected 15.6% of population and increased with age. Consumption of fruits and vegetables and physical activity in leisure time were more prevalent in men and women with 12 years of schooling or more. Hypertension diagnosis was reported by 21.1% (95%CI 19.6-22.5) of men, and 27.2% (95%CI 25.8-28.5) of women. Prevalence of diabetes was 5.8%. CONCLUSION: The results point to different health behavior according to gender, age and schooling of the population and reinforce the decreasing smoking trend and increasing overweight trend in Brazil.

[Surveillance of risk factors for chronic diseases through telephone interviews]. / Monitoramento de fatores de risco para doenças crônicas por entrevistas telefônicas.

OBJECTIVE: To describe methods and initial findings of a surveillance system of risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) based on telephone interviews. METHODS: Interviews undertaken in a random sample of the adult population of the Municipality of Sao Paulo living in households with telephone. Sampling was done in two steps and included the random selection of households and the random selection of the household member to be interviewed. The system's questionnaire investigated demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, food consumption and physical activity patterns, smoking, consumption of alcoholic beverages, recalled weight and height and reported medical diagnoses of hypertension and diabetes, among other topics. Prevalence estimates of selected risk factors for CNCDs were calculated for the adult population with telephone and for the city's entire adult population. In this last case, we applied sample weighting factors that took into account demographic and socioeconomic differences between the adult population with telephone and the entire adult population of the municipality. RESULTS: Strong differences between sexes were found for most risk factors: low consumption of fruit and vegetables, high consumption of alcohol and overweight were more frequent among men while sedentary lifestyle and hypertension were more frequent among women. Additional possibilities of stratification of risk factor prevalences allowed by the surveillance system are illustrated using age groups, schooling, and place of residence in the city. CONCLUSIONS: System performance was considered as good and was better than the performance observed in similar systems operating in developed countries when evaluated with basis on the representativeness and reliability of the estimates and on costs. The cost per concluded interview was eight times lower than the cost usually seen in similar systems in developed countries and four to eight times lower than the cost of traditional household surveys undertaken in the city of Sao Paulo.

[Hypercholesterolemia and its risk factors among schoolchildren]. / Hipercolesterolemia em escolares e seus fatores de risco.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors of hypercholesterolemia among schoolchildren aged 7 to 10 years, Brazil. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted among 172 children matched by sex and age +/-3 months in Campinas, Brazil. Cases were defined as hypercholesterolemia when cholesterol (3)200 mg/dL and controls when cholesterol 140 and 170 mg/dL. Besides drawing a blood sample for cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index and family history of cardiovascular diseases were documented. Data were analyzed through bivariate correlation using t-test for quantitative variables and Chi-square for family history of cardiovascular diseases. Odds ratio was used to estimate the risk of hypercholesterolemia. RESULTS: On average, a cholesterol of 215 mg/dL for cases and 154 mg/dL for controls was found. The mean systolic blood pressure was 107 mmHg for cases and 106 mmHg for controls. The mean of diastolic blood pressure was 67 mmHg for cases and 68 mmHg for controls. The mean body mass index was 18.2 kg/m(2) in the case-group and 17.1 kg/m(2) in the control group. Bivariate analysis showed an association between hypercholesterolemia and body mass index (p=0.048). The odds ratio revealed obesity as a risk factor in this study population (OR=2.17; CI=1.05 to 4.45). CONCLUSIONS: The results showed obesity as a risk factor for hypercholesterolemia.

[Noise-induced hearing loss and high blood pressure among city bus drivers]. / Perda auditiva induzida por ruído e hipertensão em condutores de ônibus.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of occupational noise-induced hearing loss and arterial hypertension among city bus drivers. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on a probability random sample of 108 city bus drivers taken out of a total of 1,529 estimated professionals in the city of Campinas, Brazil, in 1991. Drivers were interviewed using questionnaires on job history, shift work and vacation schedules and underwent clinical and laboratory examinations including measures of blood pressure, pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and anthropometric data analysis after an informed consent was obtained. RESULTS: The prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss was 32.7%. According to Merluzzi's classification, 91.2% (31 cases) were classified as first and second-degree losses and the most affected frequencies were 6 kHz in 61.3%, and 4 kHz in 38.7%. There were no differences in the laterality of the first affected ear. The prevalence of arterial hypertension was 13.2% (PAD > or =90 mmHg; PAS > or =140 mmHg). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of noise-induced hearing loss was greater for drivers in job for more than 6 years, after controlling for age-related hearing loss. An odds ratio of 19.25 was found for those aged 45 or more (1.59