The global burden of diabetes mellitus and other chronic diseases is high, and 80% of those with diabetes now live in low and middle income countries. Yet, little information is available regarding prevalence of diabetes and intermediate hyperglycemia in these countries, especially when a full range of diagnostic tests is employed. The purpose of this study is to provide a full accounting of these prevalences in a large, free-living Brazilian population. We report baseline data (2008-2010) from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), a cohort study of 15,105 civil servants aged 35-74 years. Diabetes mellitus was ascertained by self-report of diagnosis, medication use, fasting glucose, an oral glucose tolerance test, and/or glycated hemoglobin. Cut-offs for diabetes and intermediate hyperglycemia followed the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the American Diabetes Association. Adjusted prevalences were estimated through logistic regression. With this full accounting, 19.7% (19.0%-20.3%) had diabetes mellitus, 50.4% being previously undiagnosed. Frequencies of intermediate hyperglycemia according to various criteria ranged from 16.1% to 52.6%. Diabetes or intermediate hyperglycemia was present in 79.1% of participants when using the most comprehensive definitions. The burden was greatest in the elderly, the obese, non-whites, and those with less formal education (p < 0.001). That four of every five free-living individuals aged 35-74 years working in selected public institutions in six Brazilian state capitals presented either diabetes or intermediate hyperglycemia highlights the advanced stage of the obesity – diabetes epidemic in urban Brazil and indicates the need for urgent action.
Brazil, the largest Latin American country, is underrepresented in genomic research despite boasting the world’s largest recently admixed population. In this study, we generated 2723 high-coverage whole-genome sequences from the Brazilian population, including urban, rural, and riverine communities representing diverse ethnic backgrounds. We reveal the impressive genomic diversity of Brazilians, identifying >8 million previously unknown variants, including 36,637 predicted deleterious and potentially affecting population health. We found a positive correlation between these deleterious variants and ancestry. Brazilian genomes are a global haplotype mosaic shaped by nonrandom mating, with peak admixture in the 18th and 19th centuries. Within this diversity, ancestry-specific haplotypes exhibit an uneven spatiotemporal distribution. We also identified putatively selected genes in this diverse population, primarily linked to fertility, immune response, and metabolic traits.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive method for assessing autonomic function. Age, sex, and chronic conditions influence HRV. Our aim was to evaluate HRV measures exploring differences by age, sex, and race in a sample from a rural area. Analytical sample (n = 1,287) included participants from the 2010 to 2016 evaluation period of the Baependi Heart Study, a family-based cohort in Brazil. Participants underwent 24-hour Holter-ECG (Holter) monitoring. To derive population reference values, we restricted our analysis to a ‘healthy’ subset (i.e. absence of medical comorbidities). A confirmatory analysis was conducted with a subgroup sample that also had HRV derived from a resting ECG 10’-protocol obtained during the same time period. The ‘healthy’ subset included 543 participants. Mean age was 40 ± 14y, 41% were male, 74% self-referred as white and mean body-mass-index was 24 ± 3kg/m2. Time domain HRV measures showed significant differences by age-decade and by sex. Higher values were observed for males across almost all age-groups. Parasympathetic associated variables (rMSSD and pNN50) showed a U-shaped distribution and reversal increase above 60y. Sympathetic-parasympathetic balance variables (SDNN, SDANN) decreased linearly by age. Race differences were no significant. We compared time domain variables with complete data (Holter and resting ECG) between ‘healthy’ versus ‘unhealthy’ groups. Higher HRV values were shown for the ‘healthy’ subset compared with the ‘unhealthy’ group. HRV measures vary across age and sex. A U-shaped pattern and a reversal increase in parasympathetic variables may reflect an age-related autonomic dysfunction even in healthy individuals that could be used as a predictor of disease development.
Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main cause of death and disability in developed countries. In most cases, the progress of CVD is influenced by environmental factors and multifactorial inheritance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between APOE genotypes, cardiovascular risk factors, and a non-invasive measure of arterial stiffness in the Brazilian population. Methods: A total of 1493 urban Brazilian individuals were randomly selected from the general population of the Vitoria City Metropolitan area. Genetic analysis of the APOE polymorphism was conducted by PCR-RFLP and pulse wave velocity analyzed with a noninvasive automatic device. Results: Age, gender, body mass index, triglycerides, creatinine, uric acid, blood glucose, blood pressure phenotypes were no different between ε2, ε3 and ε4 alleles. The ε4 allele was associated with higher total-cholesterol (p < 0.001), LDL-C (p < 0.001), total-cholesterol/HDL-C ratio (p < 0.001), LDL/HDL-C ratio (p < 0.001), lower HDL-C values (p < 0.001) and higher risk to obesity (OR = 1.358, 95% CI = 1.019-1.811) and hyperuricemia (OR = 1.748, 95% CI = 1.170-2.611). Nevertheless, pulse wave velocity (p = 0.66) measures were no different between genotypes. The significant association between APOE genotypes and lipid levels persisted after a 5-year follow-up interval, but no interaction between time and genotype was observed for lipids longitudinal behavior. Conclusion: The ε4 allele of the APOE gene is associated with a worse lipid profile in the Brazilian urban population. In our relatively young sample, the observed effect of APOE genotype on lipid levels was not translated into significant effects in arterial wall stiffness.