Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the very elderly: results of a cohort study in a city in southern Brazil.

Background: Risk factors for cardiovascular mortality have barely been investigated in very elderly persons and there may be differences compared with younger individuals.

Methods: This is a cohort study of all inhabitants over 80 years of age in the city of Veranópolis, Brazil. The association of demographic, anthropometric, physical, and medical characteristics with mortality by any cause and by cardiovascular disease (CVD) was investigated by means of Cox regression models.