A positive relation between salt intake and blood pressure was detected in the analysis of a set of diverse populations participating in the INTERSALT Study, including populations such as the Yanomami Indians. The qualitative observation of their lifestyle provided additional information.

the decline in all-cause mortality resulted mainly from the decline in DCS mortality. In turn, the decline in DCS mortality was partly due to the reduction in CVD mortality, especially in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to evaluate the environmental role in the distribution of hypertension, obesity, and smoking and spousal concordance for the presence/absence of these 3 cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a community in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The households were randomly selected. Odds ratios were estimated to measure spousal concordance, across socioeconomic levels.. RESULTS: Overall a significant aggregation of all 3 risk factors was present. The crude odds ratio for hypertension was 1.78 (95%CI=1.02-3.08); for obesity, it was 1.80 (95%CI=1.09-2.96); and for smoking, it was 3.40 (95% CI=2.07-5.61). The spousal concordance for hypertension decreased significantly (p<0.001) from the lower to the higher educational level. In the case of obesity and smoking, the opposite was observed, although p-values for the linear trend were 0.10 and 0.08, respectively. CONCLUSION: In lower socioeconomic levels, couples are more concordant for hypertension and discordant for smoking. For hypertension and smoking, education seems to be a discriminant stronger than income, but for obesity the 2 socioeconomic indicators seem to represent different aspects of the environmental determinants of risk factor distribution

Background: Risk stratification models are used to assess the risk of death in surgery.Objective: To conduct a critical analysis of the EuroSCORE logistic model (ES) application in 2,692 patients undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) in four public hospitals in the Rio de Janeiro Municipality, from 1999 through to December 2003.Methods: Random samples of 150 medical records for surviving and deceased patients were selected at four public hospitals in the City of Rio de Janeiro. The ES was applied, using the logistical model. The observed lethality rate and that forecast by the model were compared. The measurement of the discriminatory power was estimated by the area under the ROC curve.Results: 546 of the 600 selected medical records were located. A significant difference was noted between the prevalence rates for the risk factors in the Brazilian and European populations. The forecast lethality rate was 3.62% (CI-95%: 3.47-3.78) while the estimated observed rate was 12.22% (CI-95%-10.99-13.46). In all risk ranges, the predicted lethality rate is under-estimated, with notable differences between the predicted and observed rates. The area under the ROC curve was estimated at 0.62. Conclusion: The differences in the prevalence rates for the risk factors constituting the ES, associated with its low power of discrimination, hamper any recommendation of the use of this model in Brazil, without the necessary adjustments.Descriptors: Risk Factors; Coronary Artery Bypass; Coronary Artery Disease. 210CARVALHO, MRM ET AL -Application of the EuroSCORE in coronary artery bypass surgery in public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc 2010; 25(2): 209-217

BackgroundMajor Depressive Disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental illnesses in psychiatry, being considered a risk factor for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS).ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of MDD in ACS patients, as well as to analyze associated factors through the interdependence of sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical variables.MethodsObservational, descriptive, cross-sectional, case-series study conducted on patients hospitalized consecutively at the coronary units of three public hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro over a 24-month period. All participants answered a standardized questionnaire requesting sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical data, as well as a structured diagnostic interview for the DSM-IV regarding ongoing major depressive episodes. A general log-linear model of multivariate analysis was employed to assess association and interdependence with a significance level of 5%.ResultsAnalysis of 356 patients (229 men), with an average and median age of 60 years (SD ± 11.42, 27-89). We found an MDD point prevalence of 23%, and a significant association between MDD and gender, marital status, sedentary lifestyle, Killip classification, and MDD history. Controlling for gender, we found a statistically significant association between MDD and gender, age ≤ 60 years, sedentary lifestyle and MDD history. The log-linear model identified the variables MDD history, gender, sedentary lifestyle, and age ≤ 60 years as having the greatest association with MDD.ConclusionDistinct approaches are required to diagnose and treat MDD in young women with ACS, history of MDD, sedentary lifestyle, and who are not in stable relationships.

BackgroundDiseases of the circulatory system (DCS) are the major cause of death in Brazil and worldwide.ObjectiveTo correlate the compensated and adjusted mortality rates due to DCS in the Rio de Janeiro State municipalities between 1979 and 2010 with the Human Development Index (HDI) from 1970 onwards.MethodsPopulation and death data were obtained in DATASUS/MS database. Mortality rates due to ischemic heart diseases (IHD), cerebrovascular diseases (CBVD) and DCS adjusted by using the direct method and compensated for ill-defined causes. The HDI data were obtained at the Brazilian Institute of Applied Research in Economics. The mortality rates and HDI values were correlated by estimating Pearson linear coefficients. The correlation coefficients between the mortality rates of census years 1991, 2000 and 2010 and HDI data of census years 1970, 1980 and 1991 were calculated with discrepancy of two demographic censuses. The linear regression coefficients were estimated with disease as the dependent variable and HDI as the independent variable.ResultsIn recent decades, there was a reduction in mortality due to DCS in all Rio de Janeiro State municipalities, mainly because of the decline in mortality due to CBVD, which was preceded by an elevation in HDI. There was a strong correlation between the socioeconomic indicator and mortality rates.ConclusionThe HDI progression showed a strong correlation with the decline in mortality due to DCS, signaling to the relevance of improvements in life conditions.

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a consolidated procedure for the treatment of ischemic heart diseases (IHDs), which requires continuous assessment.

BackgroundAlthough there is strong evidence of the benefits of antihypertensive treatment, the high prevalence of this important cardiovascular risk factor and its complications, as well as the low control rates of hypertension observed in many studies justify the investigation of these relationships in population studies. The objective was to investigate the ratio of cardiovascular disease mortality between hypertensives (non-treated, controlled and uncontrolled) and non-hypertensives in a cohort of a population sample of adults living in Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, who were classified in a survey conducted in 1991 and 1992 and whose death certificates were sought 19 years later.MethodsA cohort study was performed on probabilistic linkage between data from an epidemiological study of hypertension performed in Ilha do Governador, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1991 to 1992) and data from the Mortality Information System of Rio de Janeiro (1991 to 2009). The survey aimed to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors in 1,270 adults aged 20 years or older selected through a probabilistic sampling of households at three economic levels (low, middle and high income). We performed a probabilistic record linkage of these databases and estimated the risk of cardiovascular death using Kaplan-Meier method to plot survival curves and Cox proportional hazards models comparing hypertensive subjects all together, and by hypertension subgroups: untreated, controlled, and uncontrolled hypertensives with non-hypertensive ones.ResultsA total of 170 deaths occurred, of which 31.2 % attributed to cardiovascular causes. The hazard ratio for cardiovascular death was 6.1 times higher (95 % CI 2.7 – 13.7) in uncontrolled hypertensive patients relative to non-hypertensive patients. The hazard ratios for untreated hypertensive and controlled hypertensive patients were 2.7 times (95 % CI 1.1 – 6.3) and 2.1 times (95 % CI 0.38 – 11.5) higher than for normotensive patients, respectively.ConclusionThe present study demonstrated a higher cardiovascular death risk among hypertensive than among non-hypertensive ones that is not associated uniquely to treatment, because uncontrolled hypertensives demonstrated a greater risk than untreated ones. Although the subgroups of hypertensive individuals were susceptible to changes in their classification over the 19 years of the study, the baseline classification was consistent with a worse prognosis in these individuals.