Percentage went from 12.4% in 2008 to 6.8% in 2023; Fall was greater among men and people from 45 to 54 years old
From 2008 to 2023, the percentage of health insurance beneficiaries in Brazil fell from 12.4%to 6.8%, which represents a reduction of 54.8%. The fall was recorded in both sexes, especially men, whose proportion fell from 13.6% to 7.8% in the period.
The data are included in the Vigitel report, released by (National Agency for Supplementary Health) in partnership with the. The research analyzed health indicators in all 27 Brazilian capitals. Read A (PDF – 4 MB).
The decrease was also observed in age groups between 25 and 64 years, as well as at all levels of education. The age group with the highest reduction was that of adults between 45 and 54 years old, which dropped from 17.2% to 7.5% (-0.71 percentage point per year).
Among the levels of education, the largest drop was among people with up to 8 years of study, from 15.4% to 9.9% (-0.42 percentage point per year). In the latest years, however, data indicate a stabilization trend by both age and education range.
Daily consumption of 20 or more cigarettes
In the same period, the proportion of smokers that consume 20 or more cigarettes per day reduced from 3.6% in 2008 to 1.3% in 2023, with an average annual variation of -0.16 percentage point. Among men, this reduction was more pronounced, falling from 4.6% to 1.5% (-0.18 percentage point per year).
However, between 2018 and 2023, this frequency remained stable for both the general population and both sexes, indicating that in recent years, there has been no significant advances in reducing heavy cigarette consumption.
Vigitel
The report brings together data on the health of people with health plans in the capitals of the 26 states and the Federal District. The information was collected by Vigitel (Surveillance of Risk Factors and Protection for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Inquiry), a survey coordinated by the Ministry of Health in partnership with ANS.
The Vigitel Special Edition of Supplementary Health 2008-2023 analyzed data of 15 years of research. More than 697,000 Brazilians were heard by telephone, of which 371,394 declared a health plan. The survey addressed topics such as sociodemographic profile, food, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, overweight, obesity, presence of chronic diseases, preventive examinations and perception of health itself.
