Search

The first recommendations to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were made without epidemiological information on what would be people’s behaviors in view of the biopsychosocial and physical effects of confinement because of a health emergency with great economic impact. Objective: To determine the incidence of COVID-19; analyze the associated behavioral and sociodemographic factors. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based study with a representative sample of two cities in southern Brazil. 2,170 individuals aged 18 years or over were interviewed from October 2020 to January 2021. Data were collected in person at the place of residence of the individuals using a questionnaire. Results: The incidence of COVID-19 was 6.8% (95% confidence interval, CI: 5.4; 8.4), and was significantly higher in white people, aged between 18 and 59 years, married, with higher education, higher family income, and who lived in an apartment. The incidence of COVID-19 was associated with diabetes. People who stayed less time at home has a higher incidence (3.7% versus 7.5%). The most reported symptoms were excessive tiredness, reduced smell and taste. Most of the individuals (85%) sought a health facility and less than 5% were hospitalized. Conclusion: Almost one in ten individuals was infected by COVID-19. The incidence was higher for adults (because of being more exposed), individuals from higher socioeconomic level (because of having tested more) and in diabetics. Almost everyone stayed home after being diagnosed with the virus, and the main risk factor was having contact with someone infected.

The Covid-19 pandemic is related to increased alcohol consumption and smoking. These behaviors may be related to several sociodemographic, behavioral and mental health factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the association between alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking with sociodemographic, behavioral and mental health characteristics. This study used data from two population-based studies conducted in two cities from Southern Brazil amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Individuals aged 18 years or older were included and selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Alcohol consumption and smoking and changes in such consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic were evaluated. Sociodemographic, behavioral, pandemic-related, and mental health variables were also included. A hierarchical model was used to conduct the adjusted analyses, and Poisson regression with robust adjustment was used for variance. A total of 2170 individuals were studied. The prevalence of alcohol consumption and smoking were 9.3% and 14.2%, respectively. The rates of increase in alcohol consumption and smoking during the Covid-pandemic were about 20% and 30%, respectively. They were higher among those with depressive symptoms, feeling of sadness and self-reported stress. Those with poor diet quality had higher prevalence of alcohol consumption (PR: 1.82) and were 1.58 times more likely to smoke. The findings may help stakeholders in health and political systems to better understand the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and develop strategies to mitigate these consequences in Brazil and elsewhere.

Background: The inequality in access to women's basic rights can impact health conditions. This study aimed to assess sociodemographic inequalities on women's behavioral and health outcomes. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study conducted in a city in the south of Brazil in 2019. Individuals aged ≥18 years, living in an urban area, were eligible. For this study, only women were included. The outcomes evaluated were worse health perception, overweight, systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), diabetes mellitus (DM), insufficient physical activity, poorer diet quality, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Inequalities were analyzed considering age, schooling, and income, through the complex index of inequality, and equiplot graphs were presented. Results: Among the 523 women studied, a worse perception of health was found among the older adults, with lower income and schooling. SAH, DM, and poorer diet quality were more frequent in older women with less schooling. Those with less schooling were also more overweight and reported insufficient physical activity. Smoking and alcohol consumption were more frequent among younger women. Alcohol consumption was more frequent among those with a higher income and more schooling. Conclusion: There is a need to strengthen the education system, as well as to implement policies for valorization and qualification of work, with a view to the opportunity for improvement and gender equity.

A diabetes mellitus pode afetar negativamente a qualidade de vida. Esse fato é ainda mais agravado com a presença de complicações macro e microvasculares decorrentes da patologia, como a lesão diabética. Este artigo tem como objetivo avaliar a qualidade de vida e as características epidemiológicas das pessoas com lesão diabética, por meio do estudo descritivo realizado com todos os diabéticos que apresentavam lesão diabética e que foram atendidos no ambulatório de feridas de Criciúma (SC) (n = 54). A qualidade de vida foi avaliada em quatro domínios (físico, psicológico, ambiente e relações sociais) por meio do questionário WHOQOL-bref. Além disso, foram estudadas variáveis sociodemográficas e de saúde relacionadas com a lesão diabética. As análises descritivas foram apresentadas utilizando o programa Stata, versão 12.1. As principais causas da lesão foram trauma e neuropatia diabética (40,7%), grande parte das lesões estava localizada nos dedos dos pés (31,5%) e quase metade do número das pessoas referiu que a causa da lesão iniciou de forma desconhecida (47,9%). Os domínios de qualidade de vida apresentaram baixos escores (físico: 59,5; psicológico: 56,0; relações sociais: 56,0; ambiente: 69,0), sendo os domínios psicológico e de relações sociais os que apresentaram as menores médias. Pode-se observar como a lesão diabética pode afetar a saúde e a qualidade de vida desses indivíduos, o que sugere maior necessidade do cuidado por parte dos profissionais de saúde, a fim de melhorar esses aspectos referentes à saúde desses indivíduos.

To compare the physical activity pattern before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and verify the association with contextual, behavioral, and health variables related to the pandemic in adults and older adults from southern Brazil.This is a panel-type, population-based study in Rio Grande-RS and Criciúma-SC, with 4290 individuals. The physical activity pattern (dependent variable) was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-IPAQ. In addition, contextual, behavioral, and health aspects related to the pandemic (independent variables) were assessed by questionnaires. Fisher's exact test was used for bivariate analyses and Poisson regression with robust variance to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence, with their respective 95% confidence intervals.There was a 72% reduction in commuting physical activity and a 145% increase in physical inactivity when compared before and during the pandemic. Social distancing, excessive search for information about COVID-19, fear of the pandemic, and COVID-19 infection were all factors that contributed to the decline in physical activity during the pandemic. TheThe COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the pattern of physical activity in the general population, except for those who switched to working from home.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10389-022-01789-x.

Good sleep quality is a well-known indicator of physical and mental health, well-being, and overall vitality. This study aimed to verify the association between the practice of physical activity and sleep duration and quality in adults and older adults in southern Brazil. A cross-sectional population-based study was carried out with 820 individuals of both sexes aged 18 years or more, where sociodemographic variables were collected and also health-related variables. This study included 523 (63.8%) women and 297 (36.2%) men, and the prevalence of adequate sleep hours was 41.5% (95%CI: 39.1; 44.9). People who performed leisure walking were 34% more likely to present adequate sleep duration (PR: 1.34; 95%CI: 1.10; 1.64) compared to those who did not perform leisure walking. Individuals who met the recommendations for moderate or vigorous physical activity were more likely to have good sleep quality (PR: 1.16; 95%CI: 1.01; 1.34). Future health behavior modification strategies to improve sleep quality at the population level should consider encouraging lifestyle improvements, thus increasing the practice of physical activities.

Fear is a reaction that can influence multiple aspects of health and life. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been serious pathophysiological, social, behavioral and mental consequences that can be related to fear. This study aimed to assess the fear of Covid-19 and its association with sociodemographic, behavioral and health variables. Data were gathered from two cross-sectional population-based studies conducted in 2020 with adults from two cities from Southern Brazil. The Fear of Covid-19 scale was used to evaluate fear of Covid. Exposure variables were socioeconomic, demographic, health and pandemic-related factors. Adjusted Poisson regression was performed to assess the association between fear of Covid-19 and the exposure variables. A total of 2,152 subjects were assessed. Higher fear of Covid-19 was found among women and in individuals with symptoms of Covid-19. Living alone, being richer, and testing positive for Covid-19 were associated with lower prevalence of fear. Higher prevalence of fear of Covid-19 was related to worse sleep quality, worse health perception, sadness, higher stress, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. There was a linear association between fear of Covid-19 and health outcomes. The results provide evidence that fear of Covid-19 seems to be associated with socioeconomic, demographic, health and pandemic-related factors.

This study aimed to evaluate the association between sleep duration and quality and mental health before and amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Data from two population-based cross-sectional studies conducted in 2019 and 2020 with adults in Criciúma, Southern Brazil. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to screen major depressive episodes, while the perceived stress scale was used to assess perceived stress. Sleep was evaluated through self-reported duration and quality. Crude and adjusted Poisson regression models were used to assess the association between sleep and mental health disorders.A total of 820 (in 2019) and 863 subjects (in 2020) were assessed. Sleep quality presented significant associations with depression and stress in both years, and the magnitude of the association with depression increased amid COVID-19 pandemic. In individuals with poor/very poor sleep quality, the risk of depression in 2019 was 2.14 (95%IC 1.48;3.09) higher when compared to those with good/very good sleep quality. This risk increased to 2.26 (95%IC 1.49;3.40) in 2020. The risk of stress was 1.90 (95%IC 1.42;2.55) in 2019 and 1.66 (95%IC1.34;2.07) in 2020. The sleep duration was not associated with mental health disorders in the adjusted analyses.The results provide important evidence that sleep quality can influence mental health of adults. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have had a considerable impact on this association.

To assess regional and social inequalities in mammography and Papanicolaou tests.This was a cross-sectional study with data from the 2019 Chronic Disease Risk and Protective Factors Surveillance Telephone Survey (Vigitel). The outcome variables were mammography and cytopathology test. The exposure variables were race/skin color, schooling and region of residence in Brazil. Absolute inequality measurements were presented using the slope index of inequality (SII) and equiplots.23,339 women were included in this study. Having a mammography was 5.2 percentage points higher in women with higher levels of education, while having a cytopathology test was 5.3 percentage points lower in women of Black race/skin color.Having mammography and cytopathology tests was 3.9 and 11.2 percentage points higher, respectively, in the Southern region.Social and regional inequalities persist in Brazil and affect mainly women of Black race/skin color, with low education levels and living in the Northeast region of the country.Analisar desigualdades regionais e sociais na realização de mamografia e exame citopatológico.Estudo transversal, com dados da Vigilância de Fatores de Risco e Proteção para Doenças Crônicas por Inquérito Telefônico (Vigitel), de 2019. As variáveis de desfecho foram realização de mamografia e exame citopatológico; e as variáveis de exposição, raça/cor da pele, escolaridade e macrorregião nacional de residência. Medidas de desigualdades absolutas foram apresentadas por meio do slope index of inequality (SII) e equiplots.Foram incluídas 23.339 mulheres. A realização de mamografia foi 5,2 pontos percentuais maior naquelas com maior escolaridade, e de exame citopatológico, 5,3 pontos percentuais menor nas mulheres de raça/cor da pele preta. A realização de mamografia e exame citopatológico foram 3,9 e 11,2 pontos percentuais maiores na região Sul, respectivamente.Desigualdades sociais e regionais persistem no país e afetam, principalmente, mulheres de raça/cor da pele preta, de baixa escolaridade e residentes no Nordeste brasileiro.Analizar las desigualdades regionales y sociales en la realización de mamografías y exámenes citopatológicos.Estudio transversal con datos de la Vigilancia de Factores de Riesgo y Protección de Enfermedades crónicas por encuesta telefónica de 2019. Las variables de resultado fueron mamografía y examen citopatológico. Las variables de exposición fueron raza/color de piel, nivel de educación y macrorregión nacional de residencia. Las desigualdades absolutas se presentaron utilizando el slope index of inequality y el equiplots.Se estudiaron 23.339 mujeres. La realización de mamografía fue 5,2 puntos porcentuales más alta en las mujeres con educación superior y la citopatología fue 5,3 puntos porcentuales más baja en mujeres de raza /piel negra. La mamografía y la citopatología fueron 3,9 y 11,2 puntos porcentuales más altos, respectivamente, en la Región Sur.Las desigualdades sociales y regionales persisten en Brasil y afectan principalmente a mujeres de piel negra, con baja escolaridad y residentes en la región Nordeste del país.