Evaluation of the effect of physical exercise interventions in Primary Health Care in Brazil on cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review

Abstract

The objective was to systematically search and synthesize the evidence available in the literature about the effect of physical exercise interventions Primary Health Care (PHC), carried out in Brazil, on cardiometabolic risk factors. The search was performed in the PubMed, Virtual Health Library and Web of Science databases. The inclusion criteria were: studies with physical activity (PA) interventions or exercise in PHC; carried out in Brazil; population aged >18 years; at least one cardiometabolic risk factor assessed pre and post-intervention. The “Health Sciences Descriptors” were used to define the search descriptors: “physical activity” OR “exercise” OR “motor activity” AND “primary health care” OR “health centers” OR “primary care” AND “Brazil”. The selection phases were performed by pairs of blinded researchers and the conflicts were decided by a third evaluator. Jadad scale was used to assess the methodological quality of the articles included. In total, 1,817 articles were found and 26 duplicates excluded, leaving 1,791 for reading of titles. The abstracts of 105 articles were read, and 53 articles were read in full. Finally, 06 articles were considered eligible and included in the review. The cardiometabolic risk factors evaluated in the included studies were body mass index (4 studies), waist-hip ratio (1 study), fat percentage (1 study), blood pressure (2 studies), lipid profile (1 study), inflammatory profile (1 study), and aerobic capacity (3 studies). It is concluded that there is insufficient evidence in the literature about the effect of exercise interventions in PHC with a focus on cardiometabolic risk factors.