Simultaneity of health risk behaviors in Brazilian older adults
Abstract Background: The older adult population is rapidly growing, along with an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases and health risk behaviors. These factors impact morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs, making their monitoring essential. Objective: The objective of this study was...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Instituto de Estudos em Saúde Coletiva da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Cadernos de Saúde Coletiva |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1414-462X2025000100213&lng=en&tlng=en |
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| Summary: | Abstract Background: The older adult population is rapidly growing, along with an increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases and health risk behaviors. These factors impact morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs, making their monitoring essential. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the presence of the simultaneity of health risk behaviors (HRBs) among the older adults included in the 2013 National Health Survey (PNS). Method: This was a population-based cross-sectional study using data from PNS. The outcome "simultaneity of HRBs" resulted from the sum of such behaviors (tabagism, alcoholism, physical inactivity, inadequate diet, non-vaccination against influenza). χ2 test was used to describe the prevalence of the outcome in accordance with the independent variables, and adjusted Poisson regression was used to estimate the prevalence ratio and the respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). Results: There was a prevalence of 39.5% (95%CI [38.0–41.2]) for 0–1 HRB and of 60.5% (95%CI [58.8–62.0]) for 2–5 HRBs. A higher prevalence of HRBs was observed among males, widowed and single people, older adults without health insurance, those living in households not registered in the ESF, and those living in the South and Southeast regions of the country. A lower prevalence of the outcome was observed in older adults with yellow skin color. Conclusions: More than half of the Brazilian older adults presented two or more HRBs. These findings reinforce the need to guarantee the availability and continuous quality improvement of primary health care since the evaluated HRBs can be monitored and reduced through guidance, mainly because most independent variables are related to an increased vulnerability of the older adults, who are among the main populations focused by the basic attention. |
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| ISSN: | 1414-462X |