Accuracy and adequacy of waist circumference cut-off points currently recommended in Brazilian adults.

Objective: To evaluate the adequacy and accuracy of cut-off values currently recommended by the WHO for assessment of cardiovascular risk in southern Brazil.

Design: Population-based study aimed at determining the predictive ability of waist circumference for cardiovascular risk based on the use of previous medical diagnosis for hypertension, diabetes mellitus and/or dyslipidaemia. Descriptive analysis was used for the adequacy of current cut-off values of waist circumference, receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed and the most accurate criteria according to the Youden index and points of optimal sensitivity and specificity were identified.

Adolescent blood pressure, body mass index and skin folds: sorting out the effects of early weight and length gains.

Background: Although there is longstanding evidence of the short-term benefits of promoting rapid growth for young children in low-income settings, more recent studies suggest that early weight gain can also increase the risk of chronic diseases in adults. This paper attempts to separate the effects of early life weight and length/height gains on blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), sum of skin folds and subscapular/triceps skin fold ratio at 14-15 years of age.

Methods: The sample comprised 833 members of a prospective population-based birth cohort from Brazil.

[Self-reported hypertension: validation in a representative cross-sectional survey].

To assess the validity of self-reported hypertension, a population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Individuals aged 20 years were selected through probabilistic two-stage sampling. All 2,949 participants had their blood pressure measured twice (5 minutes apart) during a household visit.