Prevalence of a set of risk factors for chronic diseases in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Objective To estimate the prevalence of a set of risk factors for non-transmissible chronic diseases and compare it to that found 15-16 years ago in a similar survey. Methods A cross-sectional household survey was carried out comprising a random sample of people aged 15-59 years in the city of Sao Paulo between 2001 and 2002. The total of 2,103 people answered a questionnaire and had their blood pressure, weight, height, waist and hip circumferences measured. For a third of these participants, their total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose levels were determined. Results The total age-adjusted prevalences in the study age group were as follows: smoking, 22.6%; uncontrolled blood pressure, 24.3%; obesity, 13.7%; increased waist circumference, 19.7%; total cholesterol >= 240 mg/dL, 8.1%; HDL-cholesterol < 40 mg/ dL, 27.1%; triglycerides >= 200 mg/dL, 14.4%; and blood glucose >= 110 mg/dL, 6.8%. Smoking, uncontrolled blood pressure, high total cholesterol, lore HDL-cholesterol and high triglycerides were significantly more prevalent in men than women. Conclusions The prevalences of a set of risk factors for chronic diseases showed men to have a poorer condition than women. In comparison to the previous survey; the prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure remained unchanged but the prevalence of smoking has significantly lowered.