Quality of Life and Metabolic Syndrome in Brazilian quilombola communities: A Crosssectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: The lifestyle of quilombola communities has changed due to extra community influence, thus affecting their environmental and behavioral factors related to the Metabolic Syndrome (MS). However, little is known about the influence of MS on the Quality of Life (QoL) of quilombola residents. Objective: We aimed to study the association between MS and QoL in quilombola communities in northern Tocantins, Brazil.
 Methods: The QoL of 147 adults from five quilombola communities from Tocantins was assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. Blood pressure, abdominal perimeter, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol were measured, and the presence of MS was defined as the alteration of at least three of these clinical aspects. The association of the clinical components and the SM presence with the Quality of Life was evaluated by Student’s t-test for independent samples.
 Results: We observed that in the total population, an altered abdominal perimeter had an inverse association with both the Physical (15.2 vs. 14.0, p=0.002) and General QoL domains (14.4 vs. 14.0, p=0.045), and MS was inversely associated with the Physical domain (14.9 vs. 14.0, p=0.030). When stratified by sex, the altered abdominal perimeters in men were inversely associated with the Physical (16.5 vs. 14.4, p<0.001), Environmental (14.0 vs. 12.6, p=0.020) and General domains (15.5 vs. 14.0, p<0.001). MS had an inverse association with the Physical (15.8 vs. 14.4, p=0.026) and General domains (14.8 vs. 14.0 p= 0.042) in men. In women there was no association between any risk factor studied and QoL domain.
 Conclusions: The status of MS was negatively associated with the quality of life of the male population, highlighting the abdominal perimeter, which influences the Physical and General domains of QoL, but in the female population the MS does not interfere in the perception of QoL. Understanding the relationship between chronic diseases and QoL in quilombola communities is necessary to reduce health inequalities in historically vulnerable communities.

Access to Health Services and Assistance Offered to the Afro-Descendant Communities in Northern Brazil: A Qualitative Study

“…Many quilombolas were infected and recovered, but some died due to lack of health information and also because they did not receive comprehensive health care, equally and with quality in their territories [ 25 ]. This information reinforces what many studies emphasize the lack of assistance and access to health services [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 52 , 57 ].…”

“…A study on quality of life and metabolic syndrome conducted with 147 adult quilombolas from the central region of the State of Tocantins found that 48% of them had SAH [ 48 ]. In this same thought, a study on arterial hypertension and related factors in quilombola communities in Vitória da Conquista-BA also found high levels of blood pressure [ 49 ].…”

Prevalence and factors associated with metabolic syndrome in vulnerable population in northern Brazil: a cross-sectional study

“…With regard to the value found for the prevalence of SM, studies also carried out with quilombola populations in the north of the country found similar prevalences, 32.1% 22 and 33.3% 23 , respectively.…”

Um olhar para a vulnerabilidade: análise da ausência de acesso à saúde pelos quilombolas no Brasil

“…Studies carried out with quilombola populations show the prevalence of females [20][21][22]24,25 . Regarding selfdeclaration, it is observed that the brown and black selfdeclarations are constant in the studies, corroborating with the results found 22,24 .…”