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Chronic infections can contribute to the aging process, but this issue is less studied in Latin America. The aim was to assess the prevalence and factors associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes Simplex 1 (HSV-1), Chlamydia pneumoniae and Helicobacter pylori among the elderly. A total of 1,320 individuals participated from the baseline of the Elderly Cohort of Bambuí. IgG antibodies against infections and explanatory variables (sociodemographic factors, health behaviors and health conditions) were evaluated. Poisson regression models with robust variance were used. Seroprevalence rates were 99.4% for CMV, 96.7% for HSV-1, 56% for C. pneumoniae and 70.5% for H. pylori. Elderly men, women, smokers, diabetics, the disabled and those with high levels of IL-6 had a higher prevalence of CMV. HSV-1 was less frequent among women. The prevalence of C. pneumoniae was higher at ages >75 and among diabetics; it was lower among women and individuals with less schooling. H. pylori was less frequent among women and those with detectable levels of IL-1β, but more common among smokers. The findings show a high prevalence of chronic infection and a different epidemiologic profile for each pathogen, making it possible to detect groups that are vulnerable to these infections.

Objective: Analyze whether inflammatory markers are associated with falls among older adults living in Bambuí., Methods: Study that analyzed baseline data from a Bambuí Cohort Study of Aging, involving 1,250 participants. Data about falls were collected from previous 12 months, classified as single or multiple occurrence and severity (participant seeking health services). Information about sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors and health condition was also collected and used as confounding factors. The exposures of interest included interleukins (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), ultra-sensitive C-reactive protein (us-CRP) and chemokines (CXCL9, CCL5, CCL10, MCP1). Data were processed through logistic regression, obtaining odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (95%CI)., Results: The prevalence of falls was 27.1%; 40.1% of the older adults reported multiple falls and 33.3% sought health services. After adjustments, the following elevated levels were associated with falls: us-CRP (OR = 1.46, 95%CI 1.04-2.03), CCL5 (OR = 1.38, 95%CI 1.01-1.90) and CXCL9 (OR = 1.43, 95%CI 1.02-2.02). An association was observed between the number of elevated markers and the occurrence of falls: two (OR = 1.47, 95%CI 1.02-2.12) and three (OR = 2.08, 95%CI 1.12-3.87) elevated biomarkers indicated fall probability of 32.0% and 39.4%, respectively., Conclusions: Elevated levels of us-CRP, CCL5 and CXCL9, which were associated with falls, may contribute to a proper understanding of the mechanism associated with the occurrence of falls among older people.

The study aimed to identify the cutoff points for inflammatory markers that best discriminate the occurrence of metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling older adults. Baseline data were used from the elderly cohort in the city of Bambuí, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The target exposure was presence of metabolic syndrome, defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III criterion, and the outcomes included the following inflammatory markers: cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 e TNF), chemokines (CXCL8, CXCL9, CCL2, CXCL10, and CCL5), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Definition of the cutoff points for the inflammatory markers was based on the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) method. The associations between these markers and metabolic syndrome were estimated by logistic regression models, obtaining odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals, considering adjustment for confounding factors. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 49.1%, and IL-1β, IL-12, and TNF levels were not associated statistically with this exposure. After adjustment, presence of metabolic syndrome was associated with higher IL-6 and CRP levels and lower CXCL8 and CCL5. Significant associations were also observed with intermediate serum CXCL9 and CXCL10 levels. The combination of markers also showed a significant and consistent association with metabolic syndrome. In addition to demonstrating an association between metabolic syndrome and a wide range of biomarkers (some not previously described in the literature), the results highlight that this association occurs at much lower levels than previously demonstrated, suggesting that metabolic syndrome plays an important role in the inflammatory profile of the older adults.

Introduction: Inflammation plays an important role in the aging process., Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to examine the association between inflammatory markers and hospitalizations among older adults, considering as potential confounding factors the predisposing and enabling factors for the use of health services and health conditions., Methods: We used data from 1,393 participants (≥ 60 years) in the baseline cohort from Bambuí. The markers assessed were ten cytokines and chemokines [interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), CCL2, CCL5, CXCL8, CXCL9, and CXCL10]. The outcome variable was one or more hospitalizations in the preceding 12 months., Results: Elevated serum levels of IL-6 were significantly associated with hospitalizations [prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.38; confidence interval of 95% (95%CI) 1.02 - 1.87 and PR = 1.38; 95%CI 1.01 - 1.88 for the intermediate and highest tertiles, respectively]. High levels of CXCL9 were also independently associated with the outcome (PR = 1.38; 95%CI 1.01 - 1.89 and PR = 1.46; 95%CI 1.07 - 2.00, respectively). Other markers showed no statistically significant association with hospitalizations., Conclusion: Among the ten markers analyzed, only IL-6 and CXCL9 were associated with hospitalizations.