Prevalência e acúmulo de comportamentos de risco para doenças cardiovasculares entre adolescentes da zona rural de Pelotas, RS.

Abstract

Early exposure to risk factors is increasingly common among young people, and is associated with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies conducted in the urban area showed a high prevalence of CVD behavioral risk factors (BRF) among adolescents, isolated and simultaneously, but with respect to the subject, among adolescents living in rural areas and are still scarce. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of BRF for CVD and factors associated with its tumult among adolescents from rural Pelotas, RS. It was carried out in a cross-sectional, school-based study, with students enrolled from 6th to 9th grade of elementary school in the 21 municipal schools in rural Pelotas, RS. The investigated BRF were: physical inactivity; irregular consumption of fruits and vegetables; experimentation with alcohol and tobacco and adding salt to food. The outcome of the study was BRF agglomeration score, ie, it ranged from zero to 3 (zero = no exposure; 1 = exposure to one factor; 2 = exposure to two factors; and 3 = exposure to three or more factors). The independent variables evaluated were gender, age, skin color, education of parents / guardians. All data related to the students and their parents / representatives were collected through an automatically applied questionnaire. Physical inactivity was the most prevalent risk factor (74.8%), followed by irregular consumption of fruits and vegetables (56.2%). More than 90% of adolescents had at least one BRC. As for volume, most had two BRF (41.7%), a combination of physical inactivity and irregular consumption of fruits and vegetables with higher prevalence (23%). The odds of BRF growth increased with age. The presence of FRC, as well as their simultaneity, is quite high among adolescents from rural Pelotas, showing that they are exposed to the development of CVD. In this sense, preventives of simultaneous occurrence of these factors are being applied.