RESUMO
Antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, and blood glucose-lowering drugs have slowed down the aging process in animal models. In humans, studies are limited, have short follow-up times, and show mixed results. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the effects of commonly used medications on functional aging, cognitive function, and frailty. We included information on individuals from three Swedish longitudinal population-based studies collected between 1986 and 2014. Our exposures were the 21 most used groups of medications among individuals aged 65 years and older in the Swedish population in 2022. Functional aging index (n = 1191), cognitive function (n = 1094), and frailty index (n = 1361) were the outcomes of interest. To estimate the medication effects, we used a self-controlled analysis, where each individual is his/her own control, thereby adjusting for all time-stable confounders. The analysis was additionally adjusted for time-varying confounders (chronological age, Charlson Comorbidity Index, smoking, body mass index, and the number of drugs). The participants were 65.5-82.8 years at the first in-person assessment. Adrenergics/inhalants (effect size = 0.089) and lipid-modifying agents/plain (effect size = 0.082) were associated with higher values of cognitive function (improvement), and selective calcium channel blockers with mainly vascular effects (effect size = -0.129) were associated with lower values of the functional aging index (improvement). No beneficial effects were found on the frailty index. Adrenergics/inhalants, lipid-modifying agents/plain, and selective calcium channel blockers with mainly vascular effects may benefit functional biomarkers of aging. More research is needed to investigate their clinical value in preventing adverse aging outcomes.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation is not an easy accomplishment. However, the benefits are several for those who do it, such as cardiovascular risk reduction 1 year after quitting smoking. This study aimed to verify the factors related to smoking cessation in civil servants of The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). METHODS: This study had a longitudinal design using data from a prospective cohort of civil servants (ELSA-Brasil). Our variable of interest was smoking cessation. The relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, job stress, health-related variables, legislation, and smoking cessation was analyzed by Cox proportional hazard models. The analyses were stratified by gender. Second-hand smoke exposure, age, education, excessive alcohol consumption, common mental disorder, and smoking control law were the variables considered in the final model. RESULTS: Information of 2020 women and 2429 men was analyzed. Individuals without second-hand smoke exposure, with up to 49 years of age, with higher education, without excessive alcohol consumption, without common mental disorders, and who initiated smoking in 1989 or after the smoking control law had a higher risk of stopping smoking. The risks magnitudes were higher for women. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reinforces the necessity of alcohol consumption regulation, the relevance of Public Health Policies, and the need for more smoking cessation measures focused on men, on people with mental disorders, alcoholism, and older adults. Also, our results did not show significant risks regarding the psychosocial working environment.