Abstract
To compare the prevalence of and trend in risk and protective factors for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among women beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of Bolsa Família from 2016 to 2019. This is a cross-sectional time-series study. We estimated the prevalence and prevalence ratios, both crude and adjusted for age and schooling, of NCD indicators with their respective confidence intervals, using the Poisson regression model. A time-trend analysis was also performed employing a simple linear regression model, regarding the indicators as the outcome variable and the year of the survey as the explanatory variable. Women beneficiaries were more exposed to risk factors for NCDs compared to non-beneficiaries. Prevalence ratios adjusted for smokers were 1.15 (1.07 - 1.24), for overweight were 1.08 (1.03 - 1.14), and for obesity were 1.09 (1.04 - 1.14), while the recommended fruit and vegetable consumption was 0.93 (0.87 - 0.99); they also showed lower practice of leisure-time physical activities (0.88; 0.82 - 0.93), spent more time watching TV (1.08; 1.02 - 1.13), had worse self-rated health status (1.12; 1.04 - 1.21), and lower rates of mammography (0.80; 0.71 - 0.90) and pap smear (0.93; 0.88 - 0.98). Among the beneficiaries, the trend analysis showed an increased prevalence of overweight, from 55.9 to 62.6%, and screen time except for TV, from 13.5 to 27.8%. NCD risk factors were higher among women beneficiaries of Bolsa Família, indicating the importance of maintaining affirmative policies for this vulnerable population.
Highlights
IntroductionChronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — including cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, chronic respiratory diseases, and neoplasms — have the highest mortality rates in the world, in addition to sharing several modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, abusive alcohol consumption, insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables, sedentary lifestyle, and overweight[1,2].These diseases affect individuals of all socioeconomic classes; their more severe presentations reach vulnerable populations, such as those with low schooling and income[2,3].In this context, in order to further social justice and poverty relief, social policies targeted at assisting families living in poverty and extreme poverty aim to reduce social inequalities and promote greater equity and improvement of general life conditions[4,5].In this regard, recognizing that families have a better understanding as to how to employ the resources received, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs became the most effective instruments of social protection by increasing the income of families in a situation of vulnerability and extending, on a large scale, access to and the use of basic services in several developing countries[4,5,6,7].In Brazil, the Bolsa Família Program (BFP) stood out for being the largest CCT program in the world[8,9]; its purpose is to improve the living conditions of low-income families with restricted access to health, food, and education[4,5,9,10].NCD INDICATORS AMONG BENEFICIARIES AND NON-BENEFICIARIES OF THE BFP
We considered the negative answers to the questions: “In the past three months, have you practiced some type of physical activity or sport?”; “While going to or returning from work, do you walk or bike part of the route?”; “In your work, do you walk a lot?”; “How long does this part of the commute take?”; “Who usually does the heavy cleaning at your home?”; and “Are you responsible for the heavier part of the cleaning?”
Among women who did not receive Bolsa Família (BF), most interviewees presented high schooling (67.23%), over half of them were aged 55 years or older (53.94%) and, despite the higher number of respondents in the Northeast and North regions (34 and 23.81%, respectively), their proportion was lower than that of women participating in the Bolsa Família Program (BFP) (Table 1)
Summary
Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — including cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, chronic respiratory diseases, and neoplasms — have the highest mortality rates in the world, in addition to sharing several modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, abusive alcohol consumption, insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables, sedentary lifestyle, and overweight[1,2].These diseases affect individuals of all socioeconomic classes; their more severe presentations reach vulnerable populations, such as those with low schooling and income[2,3].In this context, in order to further social justice and poverty relief, social policies targeted at assisting families living in poverty and extreme poverty aim to reduce social inequalities and promote greater equity and improvement of general life conditions[4,5].In this regard, recognizing that families have a better understanding as to how to employ the resources received, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs became the most effective instruments of social protection by increasing the income of families in a situation of vulnerability and extending, on a large scale, access to and the use of basic services in several developing countries[4,5,6,7].In Brazil, the Bolsa Família Program (BFP) stood out for being the largest CCT program in the world[8,9]; its purpose is to improve the living conditions of low-income families with restricted access to health, food, and education[4,5,9,10].NCD INDICATORS AMONG BENEFICIARIES AND NON-BENEFICIARIES OF THE BFP. Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — including cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, chronic respiratory diseases, and neoplasms — have the highest mortality rates in the world, in addition to sharing several modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, abusive alcohol consumption, insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables, sedentary lifestyle, and overweight[1,2] These diseases affect individuals of all socioeconomic classes; their more severe presentations reach vulnerable populations, such as those with low schooling and income[2,3]. In this context, in order to further social justice and poverty relief, social policies targeted at assisting families living in poverty and extreme poverty aim to reduce social inequalities and promote greater equity and improvement of general life conditions[4,5].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
