Relationship between social capital indicators and lifestyle in Brazilian adults

The present study examined the relationship between indicators of social capital and health-related behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 1,062 participants representative of the population aged 40 years or older from a city in Southern Brazil. The following indicators of s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mathias Roberto Loch (Author), Regina Kazue Tanno de Souza (Author), Arthur Eumann Mesas (Author), David Martinez-Gómez (Author), Fernando Rodríguez-Artalejo (Author)
Format: Book
Published: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 2015-08-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:The present study examined the relationship between indicators of social capital and health-related behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 1,062 participants representative of the population aged 40 years or older from a city in Southern Brazil. The following indicators of social capital were examined: number of friends, number of people they could borrow money from when in need; extent of trust in community members; number of times members of the community help each other; community safety; and extent of membership in community activities. Also, an overall score of social capital including all indicators was calculated. A poor social capital was associated with insufficient leisure-time physical activity (OR = 1.70; 95%CI: 1.07-2.70), low consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR = 1.53; 95%CI: 1.05-2.24), and smoking (OR = 1.97; 95%CI: 1.21-3.21). No clear association was found between capital social and binge drinking. A score of social capital showed an inverse relationship with the number of prevalent risk behaviors (p < 0.001). These results reinforce that policies to promote health should consider social capital.
Item Description:0102-311X
10.1590/0102-311X00132614