Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a Brazilian population-based cohort study

Objective: Our aim was to investigate risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a population-based Brazilian cohort. Design and methods: A cohort study was conducted with 1091 individuals identified through multi-stage probability sampling in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Risk factors were investigated among demographic and anthropometric characteristics, including education, smoking habits, income, alcoholic beverage consumption, and blood pressure. A fatal or non-fatal episode of myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure, and cases of sudden death comprised the composite endpoint. Results: Vital status was determined in 982 (90.0%) of the participants of the original cohort after 6.0±1.7 years of follow-up. A total of 52 individuals presented a cardiovascular event. Male gender (hazard ratio (HR) 2.01, 95% CI 1.03–3.91), systolic blood pressure (mmHg) (HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.04) and alcohol consumption (g/day) (HR 1.001, 95% CI 1.00–1.003) were associated with the incidence of CVD after controlling for confounding. Body mass index (HR 1.05, 95% CI 0.99–1.11) and current or previous smoking (HR 1.65, 95% CI 0.83–3.26) showed a trend for a positive association. Conclusions: We confirmed that male gender, systolic blood pressure, obesity and smoking are risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a Brazilian population. The positive association between alcohol consumption and incident CVD was unexpected and deserves replication.