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

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 3; p. 957
• Main Authors: Costa, André Luiz Brandão, Merces, Magno Conceição das, Santana, Amália Ivine Costa, Silva, Douglas de Souza E, Pimentel, Rodrigo Fernandes Weyll, Figueiredo, Pedro Carlos Muniz de, Brandão, Tatiana Santos, Coelho, Julita Maria Freitas, Almeida, Alex Almeida E, Damasceno, Kairo Silvestre Meneses, Rossi, Thais Regis Aranha, Souza, Marcio Costa de, Lua, Iracema, Silva, Dandara Almeida Reis da, Cerqueira, Monique Magnavita Borba da Fonseca, Gomes, Antonio Marcos Tosoli, Oliveira, Jeane Freitas de, Sousa, Anderson Reis de, Santana, Thiago da Silva, Servo, Maria Lúcia Silva, Marinho, Márcia Cristina Graça, Magalhães, Lucelia Batista Neves Cunha, Silva, Arthur Pinto, Marques, Sergio Correa, Wolter, Rafael Moura Coelho Pecly, Penna, Lucia Helena, França, Luiz Carlos Moraes, Peres, Ellen Marcia, Couto, Pablo Luiz Santos, Andrade, Priscila Cristina da Silva Thiengo de, Santos, Livia Fajin de Mello Dos, Fonseca, Ana Victória Gomes, Santos, Charles Souza, Gonçalves, Lívia Maria da Silva, D'Oliveira Júnior, Argemiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22-01-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Abdomen; Acanthosis nigricans; Adipose tissue; Adiposity; Blood pressure; Body fat; Body mass; Body Mass Index; Body size; Body weight; Brazil - epidemiology; Cardiovascular disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Employment; Epidemiologic Studies; Epidemiology; Female; Health care; Humans; Hypertriglyceridemia; Male; Medical personnel; Metabolic syndrome; Obesity; Obesity, Abdominal - epidemiology; Occupational health; Occupational stress; Overweight; Physicians; Population; Prevalence; Primary care; Primary Health Care; Professionals; Psychological stress; Sociodemographics; Stress; Wages & salaries; Waist Circumference; Womens health; Workers; Brazil; Saudi Arabia; United States > US; abdominal fat; physicians; body mass index; health care; health personnel
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18030957

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.
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.
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).
Medical professionals in PHC are more susceptible to having higher abdominal adiposity, especially female physicians.