Hypertension, particularly in middle age, has been associated with worse cognitive function, but evidence is inconclusive. This study investigated whether hypertension, prehypertension, age, and duration of diagnosis, as well as blood pressure control, are associated with a decline in cognitive performance in ELSA-Brasil participants. This longitudinal study included 7063 participants, mean age 58.9 years at baseline (2008–2010), who attended visit 2 (2012–2014). Cognitive performance was measured in both visits and evaluated by the standardized scores of the memory, verbal fluency, trail B tests, and global cognitive score. The associations were investigated using linear mixed models. Hypertension and prehypertension at baseline were associated with decline in global cognitive score; being hypertension associated with reduction in memory test; and prehypertension with reduction in fluency test. Hypertension diagnose ≥55 years was associated with lower global cognitive and memory test scores, and hypertension diagnose <55 years with lower memory test scores. Duration of hypertension diagnoses was not associated with any marker of cognitive function decline. Among treated individuals, blood pressure control at baseline was inversely associated with the decline in both global cognitive and memory test scores. In this relatively young cohort, hypertension, prehypertension, and blood pressure control were independent predictors of cognitive decline in distinct abilities. Our findings suggest that both lower and older age of hypertension, but not duration of diagnosis, were associated with cognitive decline in different abilities. In addition to hypertension, prehypertension and pressure control might be critical for the preservation of cognitive function.

Objetivos: analisar os óbitos de menores de um ano residentes em Belo Horizonte, segundo critérios de evitabilidadepropostos na Atualização da Lista de Causas de Mortes Evitáveis por Intervenção do Sistema Único de Saúde. Métodos: estudo descritivo que utilizou dados dos bancos dos Sistemas de Informação sobre Mortalidade e sobre Nascidos Vivos do Ministério da Saúde (DATASUS), no período de 2006 a 2011. As causas básicas de morte foram classificadas segundo critérios de evitabilidade. Foram calculados os coeficientes de mortalidade, a mortalidade proporcional por componentes e por principais grupos de causas. Resultados: o coeficiente de mortalidade infantil apresentou decréscimo de (18,7%) no período. Dentre as causas evitáveis, observou-se que as taxas declinaram nos subgrupos: reduzíveis por ações adequadas de diagnóstico e tratamento (38,8%) e reduzíveis por adequada atenção ao feto e ao recém nascido (30,6%). Os subgrupos reduzíveis por adequadas atenção à mulher na gestação e ações de promoção a saúde, vinculadas às ações de atenção cresceram (17,1% e 22,7%), respectivamente. Conclusões: a utilização da referida lista, permitiu identificar quais óbitos são mais passíveis de prevenção e avaliar qual categoria requer maior investimento para redução da mortalidade. Mostrou boa aplicabilidade para evitabilidade de óbitos nos recém-nascidos menores de 1000 gramas.

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Background Increased aortic stiffness has been associated with cognitive decline and dementia, but the results are inconsistent. This study investigated the longitudinal association of aortic stiffness and age with decreased cognitive performance in 3 cognitive tests. Methods and Results This study included 6927 participants, with a mean age of 58.8 years at baseline (2008–2010), who participated in the second wave (2012–2014) of the ELSA ‐Brasil (Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health) (interval between visits ranging from 2–6 years). Cognitive performance was evaluated by Memory, Phonemic, and Semantic Verbal Fluency and Trail B Tests, applied at both cohort visits. Associations with the carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity and age at baseline were investigated using linear models with mixed effects after adjusting for confounders. After all the adjustments, including for systolic blood pressure, the interaction term carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity×time proved to be statistically significant for Memory and Verbal Fluency Tests, indicating that the higher carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity at baseline was associated with a faster decline in cognitive performance in these tests between waves. The interaction term age×time was statistically significant for all cognitive tests, suggesting that increasing age at baseline was also associated with a faster decline in cognitive performance between waves. Conclusions In this relatively young cohort, and after a relatively short interval, an increased aortic stiffness at baseline was associated with a sharper decline in cognitive performances in memory and verbal fluency, regardless of systolic blood pressure levels. This study also showed that the decline in cognitive performance was faster among older individuals than among younger ones at baseline.

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We investigated whether racial discrimination accelerates the weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) gain in Blacks and Browns participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) in four years of follow-up. We compared body weight and BMI between the 1st (2008-2010) and 2nd visit (2012-2014) of 5,983 Blacks and Browns participants. Exposure to racial discrimination and covariates (age, sex, education, and research center) were obtained at the 1st visit. Linear mixed effects models stratified by race/skin color were used. Report of racial discrimination was more frequent among Blacks (32.1%) than Browns (6.3%). During the follow-up period, Blacks and Browns gained an average of 1.4kg and 1.2kg, respectively. This increase was greater among those who reported discrimination when compared to those who did not, both in Blacks (2.1kg vs.1.0kg, p < 0.001) and Browns (1.9kg vs. 1.1kg, p < 0.05). The results of the interaction between racial discrimination and time showed that Blacks, but not Browns, who reported racial discrimination had greater weight and BMI gains between visits. Our results suggest that reducing racial discrimination would contribute to prevent and/or control obesity increase in the country.