Cardiovascular risk factors with an emphasis on hypertension in the Mura Indians from Amazonia

Abstract

BackgroundThe Brazilian indigenous population is currently undergoing a process of epidemiological transition regarding the occurrence of communicable diseases, malnutrition and non-communicable chronic diseases. Chronic non-infectious diseases are the most common causes of death worldwide, and hypertension is one of the main cardiovascular risk factors. Thus, the main objective of this paper was to evaluate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, with an emphasis on hypertension, in the Mura Indians living in the municipality of Autazes in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among 455 natives (57.8% women, 42.2 ± 16.7 years) selected by simple random sampling. Sociodemographic variables, habits and lifestyles, anthropometric data, fasting glycaemia and lipid profiles were evaluated. Blood pressure was measured with a validated automatic device. Values of p ≤ 0.05 were considered significant.ResultsThe prevalence of hypertension was 26.6%. The other cardiovascular risk factors were as follows: increased waist-hip ratio (85.1%); increased neck circumference (60.2%); increased waist circumference (48.6%); overweight (57.1%); physical inactivity (52.7%); use of alcoholic beverages (40.2%); high total cholesterol (27.5%); increased triglycerides (23.5%); smoking (20.4%); and diabetes mellitus (3.0%). In relation to non-hypertensive individuals, indigenous hypertensive individuals were (p ≤ 0.05) older and had a higher proportion of individuals living with partners and individuals who were retired, as well as a lower level of schooling and higher family income. The indigenous people living in urban areas had a higher prevalence of hypertension than did those living in rural areas. In relation to habits and lifestyles, hypertensive Indians had a lower prevalence of smoking, higher frequency of the use of animal fat during meal preparation, lower frequency of vegetable oil use and lower frequency of salt addition to already-prepared meals. An assessment of anthropometric variables and laboratory markers showed that the hypertensive indigenous individuals had higher values of body mass index, neck circumference, waist circumference, visceral fat, Conicity Index, and body fat than did the non-hypertensive individuals.ConclusionThe prevalence of hypertension and other important cardiovascular risk factors in the Mura Indians was high. This finding is probably due to the adoption of inappropriate habits and lifestyles.

Current State of Diabetes Mellitus Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control in Latin America: Challenges and Innovative Solutions to Improve Health Outcomes Across the Continent

“…A few studies in our review reported a low prevalence of diabetes among some indigenous populations in LatAm [55,74,82], in parallel to some previous reports [283][284][285][286] about other indigenous groups in the region and in contrast with the higher prevalence of diabetes among American Indians in the USA [287] and the First Nations in Canada [288]. However, other studies in our review and in the current literature have documented elevated diabetes prevalence or risk among indigenous and other socioeconomically disadvantaged ethnic groups [48,50,73,76,77,83,90,91,166,[289][290][291][292][293]. Some of the diabetes prevalence studies included in our review focused on or mentioned participants from indigenous groups [35,48,50,74,83] and other underrepresented groups (e.g., Garifuna, Afro-Panamanian, Afro-Peruvian, Afro-Ecuadorian) [55,76,90,91,166].…”

Relationship between serum uric acid and clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors and renal disorders among Shanghai population: a multicentre and cross-sectional study

“…The association between hyperuricaemia and cardiovascular disease risk factors (CRFs) has been widely focused since the last century 5. There are various risk factors involved in CVDs, including age, sex, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, family history, smoking, depression and so on 6–8. Numerous indexes of CRFs were closely associated with increased SUA, such as body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 6 7 9.…”

“…There are various risk factors involved in CVDs, including age, sex, obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, family history, smoking, depression and so on 6–8. Numerous indexes of CRFs were closely associated with increased SUA, such as body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) 6 7 9. However, the relationship between hyperuricaemia and CRFs in both genders of the Shanghai population has not been well studied, and data from multiple clinical centres in China are extremely limited.…”

Sodium Reduction: How Big Might the Risks and Benefits Be?

“…In their traditional setting, these populations consume only naturally occurring sodium at very low levels with adult blood pressure distributions that exhibit no rise with age and an almost complete absence of clinical hypertension [7]. Upon migration to urban settings and exposure to foods containing added sodium, there is a rapid rise in blood pressure, hypertension and the risk of cardiovascular diseases [9].…”