title: A prospective study of risk factors for cardiovascular events among the elderly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the impact of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors on the occurrence of fatal and non-fatal CV events in elderly individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present research was a prospective cohort study of 800 elderly Brazilian outpatients (60 to 85 years old) with a 12-year follow-up period (baseline: 1997-1998). The outcome variable was CV mortality or non-fatal CV events (stroke, infarction, angina, heart failure). Hypertension, diabetes, global and abdominal obesity, dyslipidemias, and metabolic syndrome were analyzed as independent variables. The analyses were based on Cox proportional hazard models and adjusted for gender, age range, smoking, regular physical activity, and previous cardiovascular disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 233 fatal and non-fatal CV events were observed (29.1%). In the adjusted analysis, the following variables were associated with CV risk: hypertension hazard ratio (HR): 1.69; confidence interval (CI) 95%: 1.28-2.24, diabetes (HR: 2.67; CI 95%: 1.98-3.61), metabolic syndrome (HR: 1.61; CI 95%: 1.24-2.09), abdominal obesity (HR: 1.36; CI 95%: 1.03-1.79), hypertriglyceridemia (HR: 1.67; CI 95%: 1.22-2.30) and high triglyceride/HDL-c ratio (HR: 1.73; CI 95%: 1.31-2.84). Hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia remained associated with CV risk regardless of abdominal obesity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this prospective study, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia were predictors of CV risk in elderly individuals. These results confirm the relevance of controlling these CV risk factors in this age group.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Geriatrics, Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. marcoscabrera@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Marcos Aparecido Sarria
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Selma Maffei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: de Andrade
authors.forename: Arthur Eumann
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Mesas
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001786:Blood Glucose; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose