ABSTRACT
Fundamentos: O envelhecimento é um fenômeno de realidade mundial. Com a senilidade da população, háaumento da prevalência de doenças crônicas não transmissíveis e, entre elas, a hipertensão arterial sistêmica(HAS) é a mais prevalente.Objetivo: Estimar a prevalência de hipertensão arterial sistêmica e os fatores associados em idosos residentes nomunicípio de Tubarão, SC, Brasil.Métodos: Estudo transversal, de base populacional, realizado com idosos (≥60 anos) residentes na cidade deTubarão, SC, Brasil, no período de setembro de 2010 a maio de 2011. Realizada entrevista e posterior aferição dapressão arterial (PA), peso e altura. As variáveis analisadas foram: sexo, faixa etária, escolaridade, etnia, alcoolismo, tabagismo, obesidade, atividade física e história familiar. Foi considerado hipertenso o idoso com níveis pressóricos≥140/90mmHg ou aquele em uso de medicação anti-hipertensiva. Resultados: Foram entrevistados 805 idosos dos quais 699 (86,8%) considerados hipertensos. Destes, 56,2% apresentaram hipertensão arterial sistólica isolada. Todos os idosos com faixa etária ≥80 anos apresentavam hipertensão. As variáveis estatisticamente significativas foram idade, etnia, obesidade e história familiar de HAS. Conclusão: A prevalência da hipertensão arterial em idosos foi superior à encontrada em pesquisas realizadas anteriormente na cidade de Tubarão, SC. Os fatores associados à HAS foram: idade avançada, etnia não branca,presença de obesidade e história familiar positiva.
Background: Aging is a global phenomenon. With population aging, there is an increase in the prevalence of non-transmissible chronic diseases, among which systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) is the most prevalent one. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of systemic arterial hypertension and associated factors in elderly individuals from the city of Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil.Methods: Population-based cross-sectional study conducted with elderly individuals (≥ 60 years old) living in the city of Tubarão, Santa Catarina, Brazil, from September 2010 to May 2011. The individuals were interviewed and had their blood pressure (BP), weight and height checked. The variables analyzed were sex, age group, education level, ethnicity, alcoholism, smoking, obesity, physical activity and family history. Elderly individuals with blood pressure levels ≥140/90 mmHg or those using anti-hypertensive medication were considered hypertensive. Results: A total of 805 elderly individuals were interviewed, of which 699 (86.8%) were considered hypertensive. Of these, 56.2%had isolated systolic hypertension. All elderly individuals aged ≥ 80 had hypertension. The statistically significant variables were age, ethnicity, obesity and family history of hypertension. Conclusion: The prevalence of hypertension in elderly individuals was higher than that reported in research studies carried out inthe city of Tubarão, Santa Catarina. The factors associated with hypertension were older age, non white ethnicity, presence of obesity and positive family history.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Aged , Brazil/epidemiology , Hypertension/epidemiology , Population Studies in Public Health , Delivery of Health Care/methods , Delivery of Health Care/trends , Chronic Disease , Community Health Workers , Cross-Sectional Studies , Health of Ethnic Minorities , Prevalence , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Introduction Few Latin American studies have assessed the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in elderly individuals, in whom the highest rates are expected. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with HCV infection in elderly residents in the municipality of Tubarão, Santa Catarina. Methods This cross-sectional study included 820 individuals (aged ≥ 60 years) who were selected by simple random sampling. The presence of anti-HCV antibodies was tested by chemiluminescence, and HCV RNA detection was performed for the anti-HCV-reactive subjects. Those individuals who were anti-HCV reactive but had undetectable HCV RNA levels were tested using a third-generation recombinant immunoblot assay. The variables were compared using the chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, and those variables with p < 0.05 were included in the logistic regression model. Results The mean patient age was 68.6 years (SD 7.0 years); 39% were men, and 92% were Caucasian. Eighteen subjects were anti-HCV positive. Among these individuals, 4 were characterized as false-positives, leaving 14 (1.7%) individuals with confirmed infections for analysis. HCV infection was associated with an age older than 65 years, households with 3 or more residents and the previous transfusion of blood products. In the logistic regression analysis, the following variables were independently associated with HCV infection: households with 3 or more residents (OR 7.9, 95% CI 1.7–35.9, p = 0.008) and previous blood transfusion (OR 6.2, 95% CI 2.1–18.6, p = 0.001). Conclusions The HCV prevalence in the elderly population in the municipality of Tubarão was higher than that found in previous studies of blood donors in the same region. Although exposure to contaminated blood products remained important, other transmission routes, such as household transmission, could play a role in HCV infection. .