Abstract
The present study aimed to compare changes in risk and protective behaviors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), self-reported morbidity, and preventive cancer tests prior to and at the end of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. This study analyzes a historical series from the Surveillance System of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (VIGITEL) for the years 2006 and 2021. Trends were analyzed using linear regression, and the Student’s t test was used to calculate differences between years. A decline in the prevalence of leisure-time physical activity (PA) and PA while commuting; and increased prevalence of adults with insufficient PA practice, sedentary behavior, and physical inactivity were observed. A worsening of the indicators of overweight, obesity, and diabetes was also observed during the pandemic. Hypertension was stable during the period from 2009 to 2019 and increased during the years of the pandemic. There was a reduction in the coverage of preventive mammograms and cervical cytology exams, differing from the previous trend. In conclusion, the findings point to the worsening of NCD indicators. Therefore, health promotion actions are a priority in this context.
Key words:
Risk factors; Chronic disease; Pandemics; Health surveys; Cross-sectional studies; Brazil