Relationship between health behaviors and self-reported diseases by public employees

Abstract

Introduction: Life habits such as physical activity, leisure, eating habits, stress, smoking, and alcohol consumption can directly affect individuals' health. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health behaviors and diseases self-reported by employees of a federal public university in southeastern Brazil. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 815 employees, of whom 347 were teachers and 468 were technical-administrative staff, aged between 20 and 65 years old. Data from this study were collected from a secondary database, from the Health Questionnaire (self-reported health conditions by teachers and technical-administrative employees), and from the institution's Vice Dean of Community Affairs. Among the variables assessed, the relationship between eating habits, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and self-reported illnesses (chronic diseases and infectious and parasitic diseases diagnosed by a doctor within the last 12 months) was analyzed. Results: The mean prevalence of these diseases among teachers and technical-administrative staff was 3.1 and 2.9, respectively. This study showed a statistically significant association between unhealthy diet and cerebrovascular accidents; between irregular performance of physical activity/sedentary lifestyle and endocrine/nutritional/metabolic and digestive diseases; between overweight and cardiovascular diseases, endocrine/nutritional/metabolic diseases, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension; and between smoking and musculoskeletal diseases. Conclusion: We suggest the adoption of preventative measures and the control of risk behaviors among these employees.

Factors influencing employees' eating behaviours in the office‐based workplace: A systematic review

“…change in consumption of fruit/vegetables eaten in workplace canteen meals), (b) objective measures of food choice (e.g., snack choice), (c) objective measures of food consumed (e.g., amount of fruit and vegetables consumed), (d) observational measures of food choice (e.g., snack choice), (e) subjective measures of eating behaviour (e.g., self‐reported fruit/vegetables consumed at work, self‐report of eating habits at work, e.g., eating lunch with colleagues/eating alone), and (f) subjective measures of change in eating behaviour (e.g., self‐reported increase of fruit consumed at work). Any studies based in an office but which had assessed eating behaviours generally, with no reference to eating behaviours in the workplace, were excluded . Studies investigating physical activity alongside eating or multicomponent lifestyle interventions were included as long as eating behaviours at work were reported separately in the results section. Only peer‐reviewed, published articles were included.…”

Sintomatologia depressiva em trabalhadores de uma universidade pública: um estudo de coorte dos fatores associados

“…A média de idade desses aposentados foi de 58 anos. No que diz respeito aos 328 participantes, a prevalência de sintomas depressivos nos trabalhadores do presente estudo foi de aproximadamente 9%, semelhante à prevalência de 9,7% encontrada na população adulta brasileira identificada por Barros et al (26) e Setto et al (27) , ao realizarem um estudo com servidores de uma universidade pública federal da região sudeste do Brasil, semelhante à presente pesquisa, encontraram uma prevalência de 26,7% dos trabalhadores Técnicoadministrativos com transtornos mentais e comportamentais. Ou seja, houve uma prevalência quase três vezes maior que a encontrada nos TAEs do presente estudo.…”