Conhecimento sobre fatores de risco para doenças crônicas: estudo de base populacional

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate public awareness of the association between four behavioral factors (sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol abuse, and inadequate diet) and eight diseases (diabetes, hypertension, AIDS, osteoporosis, lung cancer, depression, liver cirrhosis, and acute myocardial infarction). We conducted a population- based cross-sectional study including 2,096 individuals 10 years or older. A random clustered sampling strategy was used. For each behavioral factor, a knowledge score was constructed, ranging from zero to eight points. The highest mean score was observed for inadequate diet (5.3), followed by smoking (5.1), sedentary lifestyle (4.7), and alcohol abuse (4.5). Overall, higher knowledge scores were observed among people with high socioeconomic status and more schooling, and in intermediate age groups. Government health promotion strategies are needed to raise public awareness of risk factors for chronic diseases.