Inequalities in risk behaviors for chronic noncommunicable diseases: Vigitel, 2019

This study analyzes the economic, racial, and geographic inequalities in risk behaviors for chronic non-communicable diseases of Brazilian adults. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with data from the 2019 Vigitel (Risk and Protective Factors Surveillance System for Chronic Noncomunicable Diseases Through Telephone Interview). The analyzed risk behaviors were smoking, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity, overweight, regular consumption of soft drinks or artificial juice drinks, and non-regular consumption of fruits, legumes, and vegetables. Inequalities in risk behaviors were assessed considering Brazilian’s schooling level and their dwelling region, via the slope index of inequality (SII). Equiplots graphs were also built to better illustrate the inequalities. Stata svy command was used for all analyses due to the complexity of the sampling process. In total, 52,395 patients were evaluated. Significant inequalities in risk behaviors for chronic non-communicable diseases were observed: most risk behaviors were concentrated in those with low schooling. Smoking and soft drinks consumption were more observed in the Southern region of Brazil. Public policies are necessary to reduce the inequalities found, allowing for improvement in health indicators of the Brazilian population.

Keywords:
Social Inequality; Ethnic Inequality; Risk Factors; Chronic Disease; Adult