Total and central obesity in elderly associated with a marker of undernutrition in early life - sitting height-to-stature ratio: A nutritional paradox.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether sitting height-to-stature ratio (SHSR) is associated with total and central obesity in the elderly. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with 133 noninstitutionalized elderly. High SHSR (≥ 1SD above the mean) was used as a marker of undernutrition (MU) in early life. Poisson's multiple regression was used to determine the association between variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of high SHSR was 21.0%, total obesity 43.6% and central obesity 50.4%. Elderly with high SHSR presented a statistically significant association with total obesity (PR 1.50; 95% CI 1.04-2.18) and central obesity (PR 1.42; 95% CI 1.03-1.95) after adjustment for sex, age, educational level and income in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of total and central obesity in the elderly was associated with a MU in early life. This result indicates that nutritional deficiencies in childhood may increase the risk of obesity in the elderly, a nutritional paradox.

Prevalência de fatores de risco cardiovascular em idosos usuários do Sistema Único de Saúde de Goiânia / Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in elderly individuals treated in the Brazilian Public Health System in Goiânia

FUNDAMENTO: Os fatores de risco cardiovascular (FRCV) apresentam alta prevalência e causam impacto na morbimortalidade de idosos, porém, essa questão ainda se mostra desconhecida entre idosos usuários do Sistema Único de Saúde. OBJETIVO: Investigar a prevalência de FRCV em idosos usuários da atenção básica do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) em Goiânia - Goiás. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com amostragem em múltiplos estágios, realizado por meio de inquérito domiciliar com 418 idosos acima de 60 anos, usuários do SUS da atenção básica de Goiânia. Foram coletados dados socioeconômicos, demográficos, estilo de vida, peso, altura, circunferência da cintura, pressão arterial e uso de medicamentos. Os FRCV investigados foram: hipertensão arterial, diabete melito, obesidade total, obesidade central, dislipidemias, tabagismo, sedentarismo e consumo de bebida alcoólica. Utilizou-se o teste do Qui-quadrado para análises das associações, com significância de 5 por cento. RESULTADOS: As prevalências dos FRCV foram: 80,4 por cento de hipertensão arterial; 83,3 por cento de obesidade central; 59,8 por cento de sedentarismo; 32,2 por cento de obesidade total; 23,4 por cento de dislipidemias; 19,1 por cento de diabete melito; 10,0 por cento de tabagismo e 5,9 por cento de consumo de bebida alcoólica. Quanto à simultaneidade, 2,4 por cento dos idosos não apresentaram FRCV. A simultaneidade de dois ou mais FRCV ocorreu em 87,3 por cento dos idosos e mostra-se com maior frequência entre as mulheres. CONCLUSÃO: Os FRCV ocorrem de maneira simultânea em mais da metade dos idosos, e os mais prevalentes foram: hipertensão arterial, obesidade central e sedentarismo. É preciso intensificar as estratégias de promoção da saúde e prevenção de agravos cardiovasculares em idosos usuários da atenção básica do SUS de Goiânia, principalmente entre aqueles com simultaneidade de FRCV.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) present a high prevalence and have an impact on the morbimortality of the elderly; however, this question is still unknown by the elderly treated in the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of CVRF among the elderly treated by SUS in the city of Goiânia, state of Goiás, Brazil. METHODS: Cross-sectional study using a multiple-stage sampling method, carried out through a home-based interview with 418 elderly individuals aged > 60 years treated by SUS in the city of Goiânia, state of Goiás, Brazil. Socioeconomic and demographic data, as well as data on lifestyle, weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure and medications used were collected. The studied CVRF were: arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, total obesity, central obesity, dyslipidemias, smoking, sedentary lifestyle and alcohol consumption. The Chi-square test was used for the analyses of the associations, with significance being set at 5 percent. RESULTS: The prevalences of the CVRF were: 80.4 percent of arterial hypertension; 83.3 percent of central obesity; 59.8 percent of sedentary lifestyle; 32.2 percent of total obesity; 23.4 percent of dyslipidemias; 19.1 percent of diabetes mellitus; 10.0 percent of smoking and 5.9 percent of alcohol consumption. As for the simultaneity, 2.4 percent of the elderly did not present CVRF. The simultaneity of two or more CVRF occurred in 87.3 percent of the elderly and was more frequent among women. CONCLUSION: The CVRF occur simultaneously in more than half of the elderly individuals, and the most prevalent ones were: arterial hypertension, central obesity and sedentary lifestyle. It is necessary to foster the strategies of health promotion and prevention of cardiovascular injury in elderly individuals treated by SUS in the city of Goiânia, especially among those with simultaneous CVRF.