The profile of cardiovascular health of elderly Brazilian people needs to improve: a population-based study.

Background: In Brazil, population-based information on risk factors and their relationship with cardiovascular diseases in the elderly is scarce.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and clustering of risk factors and investigate their association with ischemic heart disease (IHD) in elderly people.

Methods: All subjects > or = 60 years of age participating in the "Inquérito domiciliar sobre comportamentos de risco e morbidade referida de doenças e agravos não transmissíveis" (Household Survey on Risk Behaviors and Reported Morbidity of Non Transmissible Diseases and Health Conditions) carried out by the Ministry of Health, in 2002/2003 in 15 capitals and the Federal District were included. The prevalence of risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, inappropriate diet, and obesity) and reported morbidity (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes) was assessed, as well as the association between IHD and clustering of these factors using the Poisson regression model.

Results: Elderly individuals represented 13.4% (3,142/23,457), 59.4% women and 40.6% men. The mean age of the participants was 69.5 years. Approximately 50% of participants reported having hypertension, 33% hypercholesterolemia, and 18% diabetes. Smoking and hypercholesterolemia dropped significantly with age. Hypertension, physical inactivity, obesity, and hypercholesterolemia were more prevalent among women. Clustering of two or more factors was observed in 71.3% of the elderly, and diminished with age. Elderly subjects with IHD had a four-fold higher prevalence of clusters with four or more factors (PR=4.1; 95% CI: 2.6-6.4).

Conclusion: The relationship between IHD and a larger clustering of risk factors probably represents a greater accumulated risk throughout life, but it also indicates the need to improve the risk profile of these elderly people.