01.02.01. Prevalence and burden of significant non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or conditions | Brazil

01.02.01. Prevalence and burden of significant non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or conditions | Brazil

24 Mar 2022

Risk behaviours

In 2017, around 10.1% of the adult population (≥18 years old) smoked tobacco, of which 2.6% were classified as heavy smokers (≥20 cigarettes/per day) and 6.7% were passive smokers in the work environment. Around 54% of people were classified as being overweight (IMC≥35) and 18.9% were obese (≥30). About 14.6% consumed sugary drinks five or more days per week and 19.1% regularly consumed alcohol to excess. Around 13.9% of both men and women (≥18 years old) were physically inactive. There was a greater difference among sex in the age group between 18 and 24 years where 21% of the women and 9% of men were physically inactive. Besides, physical inactivity was increased among people with fewer years of schooling (Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2017b).

Diabetes

The prevalence rate of diabetes in Brazil varied from 8 to 9%, and 8.1% when adjusted by age, according to the Brazilian Society of diabetes in 2017 (Brazilian Society of Diabetes, 2017). Between 2006 and 2016, the number of people with diabetes grew by 61.8%, amounting to 8.9% of the population (9.9% in women and 7.8% in men) (Ministry of Health, 2017). In 2017, estimates from the Brazilian Ministry of Health based on data from 27 large cities (people aged 18+) showed that the prevalence of diabetes in the urban population was 7.6% for both genders. However, this rate tended to increase with age and was higher among those with lower education levels (up to eight years of education) (Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2017b). Estimates from the National Health Research 2013 revealed that the prevalence of diabetes was 4.6% in people aged 18 years and over in the rural population of Brazil (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, 2020).

High Blood Pressure

The prevalence of high blood pressure in the population aged 18 and over is about 24.3%, being higher in women (26.4%) than in men (21.7%). In both genders, prevalence rate tended to increase with age and was higher in those with low levels of education (up to 8 years of education) (Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2017b).

Obesity

The prevalence of being overweight is about 54%, being higher in men (57.3%) than in women (51.2%). Women who were older were more likely to be overweight, while those who were more educated were less likely to be overweight. No specific pattern was observed for men. The prevalence of obesity was 18.9% for men and women. The frequency of obesity was lower among more educated women, but no particular pattern was observed among men (Brazilian Ministry of Health, 2017b).

Mental disorders

Between 1999 and 2016, Alzheimer’s disease was one of the ten leading causes of age-standardised years of life lost (YLL) rate in Brazil. This condition was also among the main causes of years of life lived with disability (YLD) in 2016 together with depressive, bipolar and anxiety disorders (GBD 2016, 2018). According to a WHO report, the prevalence of depressive disorders in Brazil was 5.8% and of anxiety disorders was 9.3% in 2017 (World Health Organization, 2017). We could not find any report document ‘mental disorders’ more generally.

References:

Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. (2020). Tabela 4492: Pessoas de 18 anos ou mais de idade que referem diagnóstico médico de diabetes, total, percentual e coeficiente de variação, por condição em relação à força de trabalho na semana de referência e situação do domicilio. SIDRA. https://sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/4492

Brazilian Ministry of Health. (2017b). Ministry of Health Report on Surveillance of Risk Factors.

Brazilian Society of Diabetes. (2017). Atlas da diabetes no Brasil.

GBD 2016. (2018). Burden of disease in Brazil, 1990-2016: A systematic subnational analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet Neurology, 392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31221-2

Ministry of Health. (2017). Ministry of Health Report on Surveillance of Risk Factors.

World Health Organization. (2017). Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/254610/WHO-MSD-MER-2017.2-eng.pdf;jsessionid=F9B8AE77F2B1D3698E01577B2AFCBC03?sequence=1