RELATION OF PREVALENCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES AND FACTORS OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN PRISON AGENTS IN BELO HORIZONTE, MG, BRAZIL

Abstract

The prison population in Brazil has been growing. The prison agent (PA) is the professional who worksin the security sector, having the tasks of conducting prisoners and vigilance inside the facilities,and escorting the prisoners to outside, as well. The agents have a busy and stressing life and theydo not have time and facilities to physical exercise practice. Therefore, the objective was to relate theprevalence of physical exercise with metabolic syndrome, with trace and state anxiety, and with minorpsychological disturbs in agents in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Also habits of life, physical exerciseand clinical parameters were characterized. One hundred and one agents took part in this study,as volunteers, from 3 diff erent prison units. The male average (n=76) age and standard deviation ofthe sample was 33.1±5.7 years old and 4.8±3.4 years working as PA. It was evident that the majorityuses alcoholic beverages (63%) and 97.3% classifi ed their job as very dangerous. Considering males,where the greater alterations in MS factors were found, smokers represented 26.3% and alteredglucose concentration was present in 27.6% of the sample. Smaller values were found (p<0.05) for:glucose in agents who practice (101.0±14.9 mg·dl-1) compared with non practitioners (111.9±21.5mg·dl-1) and arterial pressure (122.3±8.0 and 131.3±11,5 mmHg, respectively). Body mass index (BMI)in practitioners and non practitioners were 26.4±3.8 and 29.6±6.1 kg·m-2, and waist circumference91.6±9.7 and 99.7±16.7 cm, respectively, were also smaller (p<0,05). It was concluded that there weregreater alterations in the metabolic profi le in males non practitioners of physical exercise in the threeprisons institutions studied, because it was found systolic arterial pressure, BMI, waist circumferenceand blood glucose with statistically signifi cant diff erent values (p<0.05) compared with practitionersof physical activity.