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. 2017 Aug 28;7(8):e015705.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015705.

Gender and psychosocial factors associated with healthy lifestyle in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort: a cross-sectional study

Ana Luísa Patrão  1 , Maria da Conceição Almeida  2 , Sheila Maria Alvim Matos  1 , Dora Chor  3 , Estela M L Aquino  1
Affiliations

Gender and psychosocial factors associated with healthy lifestyle in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort: a cross-sectional study

Ana Luísa Patrão et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: It has been estimated that over 50% of the premature deaths occurring in Western countries can be attributed to causes rooted in lifestyle. In turn, leading a healthy lifestyle has also been associated with a wide range of psychosocial factors. Today, it is known that these differ among men and women. The present article aimed to identify, from a gender-based perspective, the psychosocial factors associated with healthy lifestyles in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort, the largest study concerning adult health conducted in Latin America to date.

Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted using ELSA-Brasil baseline data, collected between 2008 and 2010.

Setting: Six Brazilian public higher education and research institutions.

Participants: The ELSA-Brasil cohort consists of approximately 15 000 employees (8218 women and 6887 men), both currently working and retired.

Main outcome measures: The lifestyle indicator was constructed by summing the scores attributed to four different behaviours.

Results: The women of the ELSA-Brasil cohort have healthier lifestyles than men. In women, strong associations were found between a healthy lifestyle and age 60 years or older, Asian race and university level of education or higher. In men, being 60 years or older, of Asian or Caucasian race, having a high-school equivalent level of education or higher, being retired, having a housekeeper, having a good or very good self-perception of health and being satisfied with body image were the psychosocial factors associated with leading a healthy lifestyle.

Conclusions: The factors that influenced healthy lifestyles were found to differ among men and women, a fact that must be addressed when developing programmes designed to promote health.

Keywords: Gender; Healthy Lifestyle; Psychosocial Factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of study participants according to lifestyle and sex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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