SEDENTARY BEHAVIOR AMONG HEALTH WORKERS IN TIMES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Introduction: Sedentary behavior (SC) is considered a public health problem and has been associated with several negative health-related outcomes. However, not much is known about the prevalence of CS among primary care health professionals, as this behavior, in addition to becoming an important risk factor for the emergence of chronic diseases, may also have worsened during the pandemic. of COVID-19. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of CS and analyze associations with sociodemographic factors, occupational characteristics and clinical conditions of health workers. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study, carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic with 105 primary care health professionals, from a municipality in Bahia and another in Minas Gerais. Data collection was carried out using an online form, which included sociodemographic, occupational conditions, lifestyle habits and illnesses. SB and physical inactivity were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - long version. Descriptive analysis was carried out to characterize the sample and crude and adjusted Poisson logistic regression. Results: The participants were mostly women (82.9%), community health workers (42.9%), with an average age of 39.69 (± 10.81) years. The prevalence of high sedentary behavior was (53.3%). This condition was associated with the level of education (PR=1.88; 95% CI; 1.16–3.03) of the participants and the presence of cancer (PR=0.31 95% CI; 0.12 – 0 ,83). Conclusion: The results showed that more than half of the workers spent a lot of time in sedentary behavior and this condition was more pronounced among those with lower levels of education and among workers who had cancer.