Abstract
To analyze hypertension and its relationship with the causes of death identified by the autopsy. Cross-sectional study analyzed 356 participants belonging to the Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group, over 50 years of age, autopsied at the Sao Paulo Autopsy Service between 2004 to 2014. A clinical interview was conducted with the informant of the deceased. Hypertension was defined by reporting the disease and/or use of antihypertensive medication, by the informant of the deceased. Descriptive analyzes and bivariate and multivariable associations were performed. The prevalence of hypertension was 66.2% and it was the second leading cause of death (25.6%) identified by autopsy, preceded by atherosclerosis (37.8%). The variables associated with hypertension were: female gender (OR=2.30 (1.34-3.90)); living with partner [OR=0.55 (0.32-0.92)]; Body Mass Index [OR=1.14 (1.08-1.22)] and history of diabetes [OR=2.39 (1.34-4.27)]. The prevalence of hypertension was high, and it was the second most common underlying cause of death. The gold standard for the definition of cause of death, the autopsy, shows important results, which confirmed the relevance of hypertension as a public health problem.
Highlights
Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, the main cause of death[1]
According to the Brazilian Hypertension Guidelines, the disease can be classified in different stages (I, II or III), depending on blood pressure values and patients should be stratified according to the presence of additional risk factors or injury in target organs, in order to optimize the therapeutic decision[1]
In Brazil, there are few studies evaluating the association between hypertension and causes of death using autopsy, which is considered as gold standard to define the cause of death
Summary
Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, the main cause of death[1]. According to the Brazilian Hypertension Guidelines, the disease can be classified in different stages (I, II or III), depending on blood pressure values and patients should be stratified according to the presence of additional risk factors or injury in target organs, in order to optimize the therapeutic decision[1]. The high prevalence of the disease, in addition to the unsatisfactory control of hypertension, since only 30% of hypertensive patients have controlled blood pressure[3], and problems related to diagnosis and treatment, are potential agents for lesions in target organs, raising the mortality rate[4]. In Brazil, there are few studies evaluating the association between hypertension and causes of death using autopsy, which is considered as gold standard to define the cause of death
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