Relationship between social capital indicators and lifestyle in Brazilian adults

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between indicators of social capital and health-related behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 1,062 participants representative of the population aged 40 years or older from a city in Southern Brazil. The following indicators of social capital were examined: number of friends, number of people they could borrow money from when in need; extent of trust in community members; number of times members of the community help each other; community safety; and extent of membership in community activities. Also, an overall score of social capital including all indicators was calculated. A poor social capital was associated with insufficient leisure-time physical activity (OR = 1.70; 95%CI: 1.07-2.70), low consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR = 1.53; 95%CI: 1.05-2.24), and smoking (OR = 1.97; 95%CI: 1.21-3.21). No clear association was found between capital social and binge drinking. A score of social capital showed an inverse relationship with the number of prevalent risk behaviors (p < 0.001). These results reinforce that policies to promote health should consider social capital.

Risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease in women

“…In addition, the role of women in society has also changed over the years, however, there is still much to be discussed, because with the women in the labor market, with increasingly accelerated routine and stress of everyday life, one realizes the carelessness with food and physical activity related issues, in addition to the increased use of substances, such as alcohol and tobacco. 1,7 In this study, it was found that with increasing age of women, the level of education decreases and even in youth, education falls short of the desired. Education is seen as essential for promoting citizenship, with visible impact on the population's general life conditions, becoming more and more essential for social inclusion.…”

“…Other studies also showed low rates for tobacco consumption, being the largest tobacco and alcohol consumption seen mainly in men as age decreases and usually associated. 3,7,12 As for physical inactivity, our results show that 65% of the interviewees said they did not have the habit to practice physical activity. Similar data have been observed in another study in Cambé, Paraná, Brazil, that among the examined risk factors, the prevalence was higher in relation to physical inactivity and obesity.…”

“…In other words, less social capital indexes were associated with insufficient physical activity rate, irregular fruit, and vegetable consumption and increased smoking, while the highest social capital showed low average for risky behavior. 7 In our study, we included the level of education, occupation, and income for an association with the results related to the health of this population and we saw that the level of education and income are not favorable and may be one of the factors for results with risky behavior.…”

“…Similar data have been observed in another study in Cambé, Paraná, Brazil, that among the examined risk factors, the prevalence was higher in relation to physical inactivity and obesity. 13 Other researches in the same municipality showed that physical inactivity was more prevalent (71.3%) followed by low or moderate consumption of fruits and vegetables (63.1%), smoking (19.7%) and abusive consumption of alcohol (18.2%), 7,14 being that women showed negative behavior (52.3%), being prevalent in lower economic classes, with lower educational level and age between 40 and 49 years, 15 similar to our findings. Research conducted in the northeastern of Brazil, show that 56.9 percent of women did not practice physical activity, and 32% practiced up to twice a week, 16 being the results similar to our study's results.…”

“…In this sense, other studies suggest that behaviors and lifestyles are important social determinants for chronic conditions. 2,7,10 Among the indicators, smoking and alcohol consumption had little prominence in all age groups. A study conducted in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará.…”