Cardiovascular disease, which includes coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and peripheral vascular disease (PVD), is the leading cause of mortality in populations, particularly in the diabetic one. Individuals with diabetes have at least a two-fold to four-fold increased risk of having cardiovascular events and a double risk of death compared with age-matched subjects without diabetes. A decline in mortality from CVD has been shown, but decline due to CHD is consistently lower in individuals with diabetes when compared […]

Patients in different stages of diabetic nephropathy (DN) frequently present cardiac disease expressed by myocardial ischemia and/or diabetic cardiomyopathy. These changes are already present at early stages of DN, probably even before urinary albumin excretion (UAE) reaches the traditionally diagnostic levels of microalbuminuria. The cardiac changes are responsible for a significant proportion of the increased death rates in patients with DN and can be reduced through multiple intervention on the several risk factors present in these patients. Cardiac disease assessment […]

We conducted a chart review of premenopausal women with low bone mineral density referred to the Metabolic Bone Clinic of Federal University of Paraná, to determine the outline of these patients regarding their risk factors and secondary causes of osteoporosis. Thirty-four women (19

Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to enhanced bone fragility and a consequent increase in fracture risk. Bone fragility depends on bone density, turnover and microarchitectural features, such as relative trabecular volume, spacing, number and connectivity. Previous fragility fractures increase the fracture risk irrespective of bone density. Other risk factors must also be considered as many fractures occur in patients with osteopenia on densitometry. On the other hand, the […]

The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in a semi-arid rural area in Bahia, motivated by the increase of impaired glucose tolerance in rural populations and the scant national data about the occurrence of MS. Total sample involved 240 adults > 25 years, randomly selected, 102 (42.5%) men and 138 (57.5%) women, mean age 49.5 ± 14.9, ranging from 25 to 87 years. Diagnosis was based on the I Diretriz Brasileira de Diagnóstico […]

OBJECTIVE: To analyze tests used in routine clinical practice for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia to predict the development of cardiac events in type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: The occurrence of cardiac events (new myocardial infarct, myocardial re-vascularization procedures, congestive heart failure, acute pulmonary edema, sudden death, and death after myocardial infarction or pulmonary edema) were prospectively assessed in a cohort of 135 type 2 diabetic patients after up to seven years of follow-up. At baseline, coronary artery disease was […]

Amiodarone, used in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, is associated with thyroid dysfunction. No reports exist on its frequency in southern Brazil, nor studies evaluating the usefulness of clinical scores to diagnose thyroid abnormalities in these patients. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of amiodarone-induced thyroid dysfunction in a representative sample from a tertiary center, to study the conditions associated to this dysfunction and to evaluate the reliability of clinical scores of hypo and hyperthyroidism. One hundred ninety-five amiodarone […]

We evaluated retrospectively 34 patients with post-kidney transplant diabetes (PTDM) (group 1) and 68 submitted to renal transplant without PTDM (group 0) to determine the prevalence and risk factors for developing PTDM in patients followed at the Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto. The prevalence of PTDM was 7.4%. Group 1 patients were older at data collection (p<0.005) and at transplantation (p<0.005). Among them there was a higher frequency of cadaver donors (p= 0.023) and hypercholesterolemia (p= 0.006), and a lower frequency […]

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is responsible for the increasing number of patients on dialysis in developing countries, and is already the most common cause of renal replacement therapy in the developed ones. In this manuscript, we review the risk factors and point out strategies to prevent this microvascular complication in type 2 diabetic patients (DM2). There are some known genetic and non-genetic risk factors related to the development and progression of DN in DM2 patients. Candidate genes have been analysed, but […]

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and risk factors in adults of Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of a populational basis was performed, with sample conglomerates stratified by social and economical levels. Two visits were performed to 1039 individuals, with application of a questionnaire, evaluation of the arterial blood pressure, anthropometric measurements and collection of fasting blood for glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, HDL-c and LDL-c. RESULTS: The age-adjusted prevalence was 6.0%. Men (6.3%) and women […]