B Lymphocytes and Macrophages in the Perivascular Adipose Tissue Are Associated With Coronary Atherosclerosis: An Autopsy Study.

Background Macrophages and T lymphocytes in the perivascular adipose tissue (PvAT) were previously linked to coronary artery disease. However, the role of these cells and B lymphocytes in the human PvAT adjacent to unstable atherosclerotic plaques has not been investigated. Moreover, previous studies were inconclusive on whether PvAT inflammation was restricted to the surroundings of the atheroma plaque.

Four-year adiposity change and remission of hypertension: an observational evaluation from the Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

The degree to which weight reduction leads to the remission of hypertension in population studies is not clear. We investigated whether the changes in adiposity measures predicted the remission of hypertension in a racially admixed population over a mean 4-year follow-up. All 4847 hypertensive individuals at baseline (2008-2010) from the multicenter Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) were included.

Association Between Perceived Neighborhood Characteristics and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness: Cross-Sectional Results From the ELSA-Brasil Study.

Background: Living in a neighborhood with a low socioeconomic context may increase the risk of coronary heart disease. However, few studies have explored the impact of neighborhood characteristics on subclinical atherosclerosis, and their role as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease has not yet been studied in poor countries.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between perceived neighborhood characteristics and subclinical atherosclerosis in a large sample of adults, using cross-sectional data from the ELSA-Brasil (Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health).

Ingestion of magnesium was not associated with coronary calcium score in a cross-sectional study.

Magnesium plays a key role in glucose metabolism, vascular tone, and inflammation. Therefore, it might be a dietary risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In vitro and animal studies have suggested a decrease in vascular calcification with an increase in the magnesium intake.

Vascular age derived from coronary artery calcium score on the risk stratification of individuals with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate if vascular age derived from coronary artery calcium (CAC) score improves atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk discrimination in primary prevention asymptomatic heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) patients undergoing standard lipid-lowering therapy.

Methods And Results: Two hundred and six molecularly confirmed FH individuals (age 45 ± 14 years, 36% males, baseline LDL-cholesterol 6.2 ± 2.

Association of dietary components with dyslipidemia and low-grade inflammation biomarkers in adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia from different countries.

The association of components of a low saturated fat (SFA) and of a Mediterranean diet was tested with atherosclerosis biomarkers in 190 familial hypercholesterolemia adults (FH) from Brazil (BR) and Spain (SP). Median blood LDL-C, Apolipoprotein B (apoB), and C reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentrations were higher in BR than in SP: 179.0 vs.

High-density Lipoprotein-cholesterol Subfractions and Coronary Artery Calcium: The ELSA-Brasil Study.

Background: Although elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is considered protective against atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, no causal relationship has been demonstrated. HDL-C comprises a group of different subfractions that might have different effects on atherosclerosis. Our objective was to investigate the association between HDL-C subfractions with the coronary artery calcium (CAC) score.

Association between ideal cardiovascular health and depression incidence: a longitudinal analysis of ELSA-Brasil.

Objective: We investigated whether ideal cardiovascular health (ICH), a metric proposed by the American Heart Association, predicts depression development.

Methods: Cohort analysis from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Adults with no current depression and other common mental disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and antidepressant drug use at baseline had their ICH (composite score of smoking, dietary habits, body mass index, blood pressure, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and physical activity) assessed and classified into poor, intermediate, and optimal.

Prognostic value of a rapid sarcopenia measure in acutely ill older adults.

Background: Current recommendations to assess sarcopenia requiring specialized equipment hinder its use as a prognostic tool in busy acute settings.

Aims: To investigate the prognostic value of a rapid sarcopenia measure in acutely ill older outpatients for 1-year adverse outcomes.

Methods: Prospective study with 665 acutely ill older adults (mean age 78.

Spectrum of congenital anomalies among VACTERL cases: a EUROCAT population-based study.

Background: The VACTERL (Vertebral anomalies, Anal atresia, Cardiac malformations, Tracheo-Esophageal fistula, Renal anomalies, Limb abnormalities) association is the non-random occurrence of at least three of these congenital anomalies: vertebral, anal, cardiac, tracheo-esophageal, renal, and limb anomalies. Diagnosing VACTERL patients is difficult, as many disorders have multiple features in common with VACTERL. The aims of this study were to clearly outline component features, describe the phenotypic spectrum among the largest group of VACTERL patients thus far reported, and to identify phenotypically similar subtypes.

Atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis, the formation of fibrofatty lesions in the artery wall, causes much morbidity and mortality worldwide, including most myocardial infarctions and many strokes, as well as disabling peripheral artery disease. Development of atherosclerotic lesions probably requires low-density lipoprotein, a particle that carries cholesterol through the blood. Other risk factors for atherosclerosis and its thrombotic complications include hypertension, cigarette smoking and diabetes mellitus.

Right Ventricle Function in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Concomitant Undiagnosed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is frequently undiagnosed in patients with ischemic heart disease. Nowadays, it is still unknown whether undiagnosed concomitant COPD is related to early structural changes of the heart, as detectable by trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE). Starting from the study population of the Screening for COPD in ACS Patients (SCAP) trial, we sought to investigate potential differences in echocardiographic parameters in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), with or without undiagnosed concomitant COPD.

The Prognostic Value of Late Gadolinium Enhancement in Nonischemic Heart Disease.

Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) has become a standard clinical tool to evaluate myocardial fibrosis to define myocardial viability in the context of ischemic myocardial disease. More recently, LGE has also been used to characterize the presence and pattern of fibrosis in nonischemic cardiomyopathies. It yields unique and valuable diagnostic and prognostic insights for myriad nonischemic clinical indications and has become a key part of routine cardiac MR imaging, and a tool to guide treatment.

Context-dependence of race self-classification: Results from a highly mixed and unequal middle-income country.

Ethnic-racial classification criteria are widely recognized to vary according to historical, cultural and political contexts. In Brazil, the strong influence of individual socio-economic factors on race/colour self-classification is well known. With the expansion of genomic technologies, the use of genomic ancestry has been suggested as a substitute for classification procedures such as self-declaring race, as if they represented the same concept.

Does stroke laterality predict major depression and cognitive impairment after stroke? Two-year prospective evaluation in the EMMA study.

Depression and cognitive impairment are common conditions following stroke. We aimed to evaluate stroke laterality as predictor of post-stroke depression (PSD) and cognitive impairment (PCI) in a stroke cohort. Major depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, score ≥ 10) and cognitive impairment (Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status, score < 14) were evaluated at 6 months and yearly up to 2 years.

Decreased heart rate variability as a predictor for diabetes-A prospective study of the Brazilian longitudinal study of adult health.

Aim: To investigate whether heart rate variability (HRV) is a predictor for the incidence of diabetes in a 4-year follow-up.

Materials And Methods: The HRV of 9192 participants free of diabetes was analysed in time and frequency domains and stratified based on the reference values presented in the literature. The participants were then allocated to one of three groups, according to age-specific value distributions for each HRV domain: lower than the 25 percentile, between the 25 and 75 percentiles, and higher than the 75 percentile.

Association of Sarcopenia With Performance on Multiple Cognitive Domains: Results From the ELSA-Brasil Study.

Background: Sarcopenia and cognitive impairment share pathophysiological paths and risk factors. Our aim was to investigate the association of sarcopenia and its defining components with cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 5,038 participants from the ELSA-Brasil Study, aged ≥ 55 years.

The Role of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis of Left-sided Endocarditis: Native vs Prosthetic Valves Endocarditis.

Background: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) has emerged as a useful diagnostic tool for suspected infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with prosthetic valves or implantable devices. However, there is limited evidence regarding use of 18F-FDG-PET/CT for the diagnosis of native valve endocarditis (NVE).

Methods: Between 2014 and 2017, 303 episodes of left-sided suspected IE (188 prosthetic valves/ascending aortic prosthesis and 115 native valves) were studied.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease presence and severity are associated with aortic stiffness beyond abdominal obesity: The ELSA-Brasil.

Background And Aims: It is uncertain whether non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with aortic stiffness in a racial/ethnically diverse and admixed society. We addressed whether NAFLD presence and severity were associated with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) in individuals free of cardiovascular disease.

Methods: In 7196 individuals free of cardiovascular disease at the baseline Brazilian longitudinal study of adult health, we classified NAFLD presence and severity (mild, moderate and severe) by ultrasound hepatic attenuation.

Multilevel Analysis of the Patterns of Physical-Mental Multimorbidity in General Population of São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil.

Chronic diseases are often comorbid and present a weighty burden for communities in the 21 century. The present investigation depicted patterns of multimorbidity in the general population and examined its association with the individual- and area-level factors in an urban sample of non-elderly adults of Brazil. Data were from the cross-sectional São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey, a stratified multistage area probability sampling investigation.

Congenital clubfoot in Europe: A population-based study.

We aimed to assess prevalence, birth outcome, associated anomalies and prenatal diagnosis of congenital clubfoot in Europe using data from the EUROCAT network, and to validate the recording of congenital clubfoot as a major congenital anomaly by EUROCAT registries. Cases of congenital clubfoot were included from 18 EUROCAT registries covering more than 4.8 million births in 1995-2011.