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The Bambuí Health and Aging study (BHAS): prevalence of risk factors and use of preventive health care services
- Source :
- Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, Vol 9, Iss 4, Pp 219-227 (2001)
- Publication Year :
- 2001
- Publisher :
- Pan American Health Organization, 2001.
-
Abstract
- Objective. To describe, for the first time in Brazil, the prevalence of risk factors and the use of preventive health care services among adults 60 years and older. Methods. This population-based study was conducted during 1996-1997 in the state of Minas Gerais, in the town of Bambuí, which is located in the municipality of the same name. In 1996 the town had 14 950 inhabitants. For the study, all the town's residents aged > or = 60 years were selected, along with a comparison sample of persons aged 18-59 years. Data were gathered using interviews and physical examinations. Results. Of the 1 742 inhabitants of the town of Bambuí aged > or = 60 years, 1 606 (92.2%) participated in the interview and 1 495 (85.8%) were examined (blood pressure, anthropometric measurements, and blood tests). Among the 1 020 younger adults selected for the survey, 909 of them (89.1%) participated in the interview, and 820 of them (80.4%) underwent the physical examination. The prevalence of the following risk factors was higher among older adults than among younger adults: physical inactivity (47.7% vs. 28.0%); blood pressure 140-159 mmHg (systolic) or 90-99 mmHg (diastolic) (25.8% vs. 8.7%); blood pressure > or = 160 mmHg (systolic) or > or = 100 mmHg (diastolic) (19.1% vs. 4.1%); total cholesterol > or = 240 mg/dL (40.6% vs. 9.8%); and blood glucose > or = 126 mg/dL (12.4% vs. 2.2%). The daily consumption of fruits and vegetables was similar among the older adults and the younger ones (51.9% and 51.7%), as was also body mass index > or = 25 kg/m² (51.6% and 56.2%). Smoking was lower among the older adults (18.7%) than among the younger ones (31.1%). The proportion of participants whose blood pressure had been checked in the preceding year was high (86.8% among the older adults and 61.2% among the younger ones), suggesting that the high prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension was not due to limited access to health care. Conclusions. For a long time it was believed that the kinds of risk factors that we found in the urban section of the municipality of Bambuí were public health problems only in large Brazilian cities. Around 72% of the municipalities in Brazil have
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
lcsh:Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
Adolescent
Urban Population
Health surveys
lcsh:RC955-962
Population
lcsh:Medicine
Physical examination
Preventive Health Services
Health care
Prevalence
medicine
Health Status Indicators
Humans
risk factors
education
health services
health of the elderly
disease control and prevention
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
education.field_of_study
medicine.diagnostic_test
business.industry
Public health
lcsh:Public aspects of medicine
lcsh:R
Age Factors
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
lcsh:RA1-1270
Middle Aged
Anthropometry
Blood pressure
Health promotion
Female
business
Body mass index
Brazil
Demography
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 10204989
- Volume :
- 9
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....716a2f677f3faef3becada682cb173eb