• Maria Carolina Castanho Saes Norberto, Monique Yndawe Castanho Araujo, Suelen Jane Ricardo, Charles Rodrigues Junior, Juziane Teixeira Guiça, Bruna Camilo Turi-Lynch, and Jamile Sanches Codogno.
• MD. Master's Student, Physical Education, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Presidente Prudente (SP), Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2023 Jan 1; 142 (3): e2023029e2023029.

BackgroundResearch on the economic burden of sedentary behavior and abdominal obesity on health expenses associated with cardiovascular diseases is scarce.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to verify whether sedentary behavior, isolated and combined with abdominal obesity, influences the medication expenditure among adults with cardiovascular diseases.Design And SettingThis cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of President Prudente, State of São Paulo, Brazil in 2018.MethodsThe study included adults with cardiovascular diseases, aged 30-65 years, who were treated by the Brazilian National Health Services. Sedentary behavior was assessed using a questionnaire. Abdominal obesity was defined by waist circumference. Medication expenditures were verified using the medical records of each patient.ResultsThe study included a total of 307 adults. Individuals classified in the group with risk factor obesity combined (median [IQ] USD$ 29.39 [45.77]) or isolated (median [IQ] USD$ 27.17 [59.76]) to sedentary behavior had higher medication expenditures than those belonging to the non-obese with low sedentary behavior group (median [IQ] USD$ 13.51 [31.42]) (P = 0.01). The group with combined obesity and sedentary behavior was 2.4 (95%CI = 1.00; 5.79) times more likely to be hypertensive.ConclusionAbdominal obesity was a determining factor for medication expenses, regardless of sedentary behavior, among adults with cardiovascular diseases.

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