The Prevalence of Abdominal Adiposity among Primary Health Care Physicians in Bahia, Brazil: An Epidemiological Study

Abstract

Background: Labor activities are demanding for workers and can induce occupational stress. Primary health care (PHC) workers have faced problems that can lead to the development of stress and abdominal obesity. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of abdominal adiposity among primary health care physicians in the metropolitan mesoregion of Salvador, Bahia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with physicians from the family health units (FHUs) of the metropolitan mesoregion of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The number of FHUs corresponded to 41 teams (52 physicians). Anamnesis was performed and a questionnaire was applied. The clinical examination consisted of measuring waist circumference (WC), blood pressure levels (BP), and body mass index (BMI), as well as examining for acanthosis nigricans. Blood samples were collected for biochemical dosages. The data obtained were analyzed by SPSS version 22.0. Results: The sample included 41 physicians (response rate: 78.8%), of which 18 were women (44.0%). The percentage of overweight participants represented by BMI was 31.7%. The hypertriglyceridemia prevalence was 29.2%. HDL-c was low in 48.7% of the participants. The waist circumference measurement revealed a prevalence of abdominal adiposity of 38.8% (women) and 34.8% (men). Conclusions: Medical professionals in PHC are more susceptible to having higher abdominal adiposity, especially female physicians.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Patients at a Psychosocial Care Center: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Despite the data in Brazil and worldwide showing an increase in the prevalence of obesity [ 10 , 20 ] and abdominal adiposity [ 21 ], the data from the present study exceeds the prevalence of other local studies with populations from geographically similar regions, which describe the prevalence of obesity and overweight status as 23.5% and 42.9%, respectively [ 22 ]. Furthermore, in other studies developed by this research group, increased abdominal adiposity was found in 41.5% of nursing professionals, and ranged from 34.8% among men to 38.8% of women physicians [ 23 , 24 ]. Such a condition may contribute to premature mortality in this group, which is already described as having a reduced life expectancy [ 25 ], and who reach up to twelve years old when they have schizophrenia [ 26 ].…”