Age-related changes in DNA methylation in a sample of elderly Brazilians.

Background: Age-related changes in DNA methylation (DNAm) play a critical role in regulating gene expression. However, most epigenome-wide association studies have predominantly focused on individuals of European descent. This study aims to characterize longitudinal changes in DNAm patterns in a cohort of elderly Brazilian participants.

A multi-ethnic reference panel to impute HLA classical and non-classical class I alleles in admixed samples: Testing imputation accuracy in an admixed sample from Brazil.

The MHC class I region contains crucial genes for the innate and adaptive immune response, playing a key role in susceptibility to many autoimmune and infectious diseases. Genome-wide association studies have identified numerous disease-associated SNPs within this region. However, these associations do not fully capture the immune-biological relevance of specific HLA alleles.

Family dysfunction and cognitive decline in aging: the "Health, Wellbeing, and Aging" (SABE) longitudinal population-based study.

Unlabelled: Stress during aging is not uncommon and dysfunctional family relationships are important sources of stress in the elderly. Considering the potential stressor that family dysfunction represents, it is questioned whether prolonged exposure to dysfunctional family arrangements can contribute to cognitive decline in aging.

Objective: To verify whether family dysfunction is a predictive factor of cognitive decline in aging.

Challenges in selecting admixture models and marker sets to infer genetic ancestry in a Brazilian admixed population.

The inference of genetic ancestry plays an increasingly prominent role in clinical, population, and forensic genetics studies. Several genotyping strategies and analytical methodologies have been developed over the last few decades to assign individuals to specific biogeographic regions. However, despite these efforts, ancestry inference in populations with a recent history of admixture, such as those in Brazil, remains a challenge.

Functional mobility and 10-year all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older people from São Paulo, Brazil.

Background: A better understanding of performance in functional mobility tasks related to the mortality patterns for the different causes of death for the Brazilian older population is still a challenge.

Objective: To analyze if gait speed and chair stand test performance are associated with mortality in older adults, and if the overall mobility status changes the effect of other mortality risk factors.

Methods: The data were from SABE (Health, Well-being and Aging Study), a multiple-cohort study conducted in São Paulo, Brazil, with a representative sample of people aged 60 and more.

Health-Related Quality of Life and Associated Factors: Regional Differences Among Oldest-Old in Brazil.

Purpose: The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which socioeconomic and regional differences in Brazil may influence the quality of life. To this end, we examined factors associated with health-related quality of life in two populations of oldest-old people, aged 80 and over: one from the Northeast of Brazil and the other from the Southeast.

Methods: 417 participants aged 80 and over were interviewed face-to-face, 179 from Brejo dos Santos, one of the poorest regions in the Northeast; and 238 from São Paulo, one of the largest urban metropolises in Southeast Brazil.

Early identification of older individuals at risk of mobility decline with machine learning.

Background: The early identification of individuals at risk of mobility decline can improve targeted strategies of prevention.

Aims: To evaluate the predictive performance of machine learning (ML) algorithms in identifying older individuals at risk of future mobility decline.

Methods: We used data from the SABE Study (Health, Well-being and Aging Study), a representative sample of people aged 60 years and more, living in the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil.

Fecal incontinence: incidence and risk factors from the SABE (Health, Wellbeing and Aging) study.

Introduction And Hypothesis: This study aimed to estimate the incidence of fecal incontinence (FI) and identify risk factors in a cohort of older individuals.

Methods: In 2006, individuals aged ≥ 60 years were selected from the SABE study. The dependent variable was FI in 2010.

HLA-G genetic diversity and evolutive aspects in worldwide populations.

HLA-G is a promiscuous immune checkpoint molecule. The HLA-G gene presents substantial nucleotide variability in its regulatory regions. However, it encodes a limited number of proteins compared to classical HLA class I genes.

Family and Community Support, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: Findings From the Health, Wellbeing and Aging Study Population-Based Cohort.

Social networks can modulate physiological responses, protects against the detrimental consequences of prolonged stress, and enhance health outcomes. Family ties represent an essential source of social networks among older adults. However, the impact of family support on cognitive performance and the biological factors influencing that relationship is still unclear.

Biased pathogenic assertions of loss of function variants challenge molecular diagnosis of admixed individuals.

Diagnosis of individuals affected by monogenic disorders was significantly improved by next-generation sequencing targeting clinically relevant genes. Whole exomes yield a large number of variants that require several filtering steps, prioritization, and pathogenicity classification. Among the criteria recommended by ACMG, those that rely on population databases critically affect analyses of individuals with underrepresented ancestries.

Cause-specific mortality prediction in older residents of São Paulo, Brazil: a machine learning approach.

Background: Populational ageing has been increasing in a remarkable rate in developing countries. In this scenario, preventive strategies could help to decrease the burden of higher demands for healthcare services. Machine learning algorithms have been increasingly applied for identifying priority candidates for preventive actions, presenting a better predictive performance than traditional parsimonious models.

Admixture/fine-mapping in Brazilians reveals a West African associated potential regulatory variant (rs114066381) with a strong female-specific effect on body mass and fat mass indexes.

Background/objectives: Admixed populations are a resource to study the global genetic architecture of complex phenotypes, which is critical, considering that non-European populations are severely underrepresented in genomic studies. Here, we study the genetic architecture of BMI in children, young adults, and elderly individuals from the admixed population of Brazil.

Subjects/methods: Leveraging admixture in Brazilians, whose chromosomes are mosaics of fragments of Native American, European, and African origins, we used genome-wide data to perform admixture mapping/fine-mapping of body mass index (BMI) in three Brazilian population-based cohorts from Northeast (Salvador), Southeast (Bambuí), and South (Pelotas).

Vaccine coverage and factors associated with influenza vaccination in the elderly in the city of São Paulo, Brazil: SABE Study 2015.

This study evaluated influenza vaccine coverage among elderly individuals (≥ 60 years) living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2015, and analyzed associated factors. This was a cross-sectional population-based study of data from the SABE Study (Health, Well-Being, and Aging). The dependent variable was influenza vaccination in the 12 months prior to the interview, and the independent variables were sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics, self-reported health status, and use of health services.

Structural variation of the malaria-associated human glycophorin A-B-E region.

Background: Approximately 5% of the human genome shows common structural variation, which is enriched for genes involved in the immune response and cell-cell interactions. A well-established region of extensive structural variation is the glycophorin gene cluster, comprising three tandemly-repeated regions about 120 kb in length and carrying the highly homologous genes GYPA, GYPB and GYPE. Glycophorin A (encoded by GYPA) and glycophorin B (encoded by GYPB) are glycoproteins present at high levels on the surface of erythrocytes, and they have been suggested to act as decoy receptors for viral pathogens.

Oral health profile among community-dwellingelderly and its association with self-rated oral health.

Introduction: The use of dental prosthesis and the tooth loss in elderly people are associated with significant impact on the overall health and quality of life. Continuous assessment of oral health profile in this population is important for planning the actions and policies of the area.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of tooth loss and use of dental prosthesis among the elderly people in different periods, to evaluate the association between functional dentition (20 teeth or more) and socioeconomic factors, and to evaluate the impact of tooth loss and use of dental prosthesis on self-rated oral health.

Social inequalities in the self-rated health of the elderly people in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of the self-rated poor and very poor health status among elderly people who were not in nursing homes and were living in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2010, and to identify whether the social inequalities previously reported for this condition persist.

Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study, with a representative sample of 1,344 people aged 60 years or more living in the city, who participated in the SABE Study (Health, Well-Being, and Aging). We applied a questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics, which included three questions on self-rated health status: a direct question about the current condition, a comparison with the condition of the other people of the same age, and a comparison with oneself a year before.

[Analysis of the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and associated factors among the elderly, 2000-2010].

The scope of this study was to analyze the difference in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) between 2000 and 2010 and its association with socio-economic and risk factors among the elderly. Bayesian multilevel models were applied to analyze the difference in the prevalence of CVD, and the association between individual characteristics and the presence of CVD was analyzed by logistic regression models with complex samples separately for 2000, 2006 and 2010. This research is part of the Health, Welfare and Aging (SABE) study, performed in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and used the samples collected in 2000, 2006 and 2010.

Care and functional disabilities in daily activities - ELSI-Brazil.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of demand and provision of care for the Brazilian population with functional disabilities in activities of daily living.

Methods: This is a quantitative and descriptive study using baseline data from ELSI-Brazil (Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging), a cohort study with a representative sample of the Brazilian population aged 50 years or older (n = 9,412). We considered the demand for care from the self-report of having some difficulty to perform at least one activity of daily life (eating, bathing, going to the toilet, dressing, moving in a room [ambulation], and transferring from chair [transfer]).

Aging and decreased glomerular filtration rate: An elderly population-based study.

Background: Although a reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in old people has been attributed to physiologic aging, it may be associated with kidney disease or superimposed comorbidities. This study aims to assess the prevalence of decreased GFR in a geriatric population in a developing country and its prevalence in the absence of simultaneous diseases.

Study Design And Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of data from the Saúde, Bem-Estar e Envelhecimento cohort study (SABE study[Health, Well-Being and Aging]), a multiple cohorts study.