Transtornos do comportamento alimentar em trabalhadores residentes em zona urbana, Feira de Santana, Ba

Abstract

The increase of the eating disorders (ED) in the population, is a controversial issue. Although there may be interest, discussions and research about this issue under study, it is perceived that epidemiologic investigations of population base are still scarce, as the majority of the studies are carried through in health service units. The methodological variations (population, design of the study, method of collection of data) of the studies also make the consensus difficult and the consistency of the existing information. Thus, epidemiologic studies are necessary for the production of solid knowledge on this issue. Considering that the etiology of ED is multifactor, this study aimed to investigate its possible connection with the labor activity, as the insertion in the work market can contribute to health or illness. This study aimed to describe the ED, such as bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, according to the labor, behavior and socio-demographics characteristics, as well as estimate the prevalence of these disorders and its association with psycho-social aspects of the work within the workers of Feira de Santana city, state of Bahia. This is an epidemiological cross-sectional, exploratory study, carried out with resident workers, ages: 15 years old or older, in the urban area of Feira de Santana city, involved in remunerated activity, with or without formal work relation. In order to collect the data, it was used two instruments: a home questionnaire and an individual one, containing questions about socio-demographic characteristics and the work, psycho-social aspects of the work, habits of life and eating behavior. The analysis was developed by using SPSS 9.0 and the Epi Info version 6.0.softwares. The description of the population and analysis of the psycho-social characteristics of the work and the prevalence of ED have been done as well as the reasons of the prevalence and respective confidence intervals. Among 1,273 investigated workers, the feminine sex was predominant (60.2%), youngest (51.7% had up to 35 years), the married ones (53.1%), the African descent people (55.2%), the ones that had medium education (51.5%) and those of low income (81.2% received up to two minimum salaries). The prevalence of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN) in the studied population have been, respectively, 4.3% and 1.0%. The prevalences of BED and BN have been significantly greater than those ones which showed CAGE positive, insatisfaction with one’s weight, looks and self referred obesity, history of aggressive events in childhood and financial problem. The prevalences of BED and BN have been higher among the workers of house care services and commerce, and among those who had informal work and the ones who had weekly workload up to 30 hours. The prevalences of BED and BN have also been higher in the work group of greater demanding. This study has focused on a relation not so investigated (ED versus Work) and has contributed to bring a preliminary knowledge of ED in the local reality. It is expected that this study may encourage researchers’ interest for new studies, as well as show the importance of making investments in health policies that may account for the referred disorders