This supplement of Brazilian Journal of Epidemiology presents the results of the II National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE), conducted in 2012, besides the analyses of the Telephone-Based Surveillance of Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases (VIGITEL), two important national health surveys.

The second edition of PeNSE was conducted as a partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), with the assistance of the Ministry of Education. In 2012, the sample was larger and represented Brazil, Brazilian regions, the 26 State capitals and the Federal District, and new themes and questions were included. About 110 thousand students were interviewed, in public and private schools, especially the 9th grade of elementary school.

Adolescence is a stage of life marked by autonomy and transformations, which are reflected on new practices and attitudes and on the exposure to several situations and risks, which may compromise the present and future health of the adolescent. Studies about the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, about the sexual behavior of students, and analyses considering the family as a protective factor, among others, show that knowing the magnitude of the problem is essential to plan health promotion interventions and actions, especially in the school environment.

VIGITEL was established eight years ago, in 2006 in the 26 Brazilian capitals and in the Federal District. It was coordinated by the Ministry of Health, intermediated by the Health Surveillance Secretariat, with the support of the Group of Epidemiological Studies on Nutrition and Health (NUPENS), of Universidade de São Paulo. By means of telephone interviews assisted by a computer, VIGITEL uses probability samples of the adult population (18 years old or more), living in households with at least one landline in the year of the study, in each of the 26 Brazilian State capitals and in the Federal District; each year approximately 54,000 adults were interviewed in the Brazilian capitals.

VIGITEL enables to improve the knowledge concerning the epidemiological profile of the adult population and it provides subsidies to States and cities to plan health promotion actions, being characterized as a health surveillance tool. In order to meet this objective, VIGITEL should be an annual and a continuous survey that analyzes historical series of health indicators, which are essential to consolidate the Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance in the country.

The articles presented in this publication were elaborated by the team of the Health Surveillance Secretariat (MS), together with several Education and Research Institutions in Brazil, based on analyses of regular and qualified information generated by the Unified Health System, gathering reflections about the current situation of non-communicable diseases in the Brazilian population and its perspectives. Publicizing this information is essential so that strategies to face the main risks to health can be established, by means of public policies of health prevention and promotion. Besides, it contributes to strengthen the non-communicable disease surveillance in the country.

Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr.Health Surveillance Secretary, Ministry of Health

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