We investigated the
cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk of the elderly in a city in northeastern Brazil,
and the correlation of this risk with vitamin D and PTH status. We studied 359
elderly, both genders, from Piauí-Teresina-Brazil. Variables investigated: body
mass index, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. A
subsample (n = 100) was investigated for biochemical analyses: PTH and
25(OH)-vitamin D levels; total, HDL and LDL-cholesterol; and fasting glucose.
High blood pressure, abdominal obesity, sedentarism, high total cholesterol, high
triacylglycerol levels, as well as low vitamin D levels, were, among the
investigated variables, the most prevalent. Visceral adiposity and low vitamin
D were found to be more prevalent in women than in men, whilst alcohol intake
and smoking were more prevalent in men. The correlation between vitamin D, PTH
and the investigated risk variables, under our study conditions, were not
significant.