Accumulated behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in Southern Brazil

To estimate the prevalence of, and identify factors associated with, accumulated risky behavior relating to cardiovascular diseases among adults.

This was a population-based cross-sectional study on a representative sample of 2732 adults of both sexes in Pelotas, Southern Brazil, in 2010. The behavioral risk factors investigated were: smoking; leisure-time physical inactivity; habitual consumption of visible fat in meat; and daily consumption of processed meats, red meat and whole milk. The study outcome was the accumulated behavioral risk factors score, ranging from zero to three: no behavioral risk factor for cardiovascular diseases or exposure to 1, 2 or > 3 behavioral risk factors. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to evaluate the adjusted effect of individual characteristics on behavioral risk factors accumulation, taking individuals without any of these factors as the reference category.

Physical inactivity was the most prevalent risk factor (75.6%), followed by habitual consumption of visible fat in meat (52.3%). Two thirds of the population presented two or more behavioral risk factors. Combined physical inactivity and habitual consumption of visible fat in meat was observed in 17.5% of the sample; and combined physical inactivity, habitual consumption of visible fat in meat and smoking in 6.7%. The odds ratios for accumulation of two or more risk factors were higher among men and were inversely associated with a national economic indicator.

There was a high accumulation of behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among the study population. Public interventions with the capacity to prevent simultaneous occurrence of these factors are needed.