Atherosclerotic disease in very old age: Preliminary results from the Berlin aging study (base)

Prevalence rates of atherosclerotic diseases and its association to risk- and protective factors were analyzed in an age and gender stratified sample of a Berlin population of 70-103-year-old subjects (BASE: Berlin Aging Study). The investigation revealed three essential findings. (i) Age-specific differences in the prevalence rates of coronary heart disease and peripheral vascular disease were not detectable. (ii) Cerebrovascular disease was less frequent among subjects over 90 years compared to younger subjects. (iii) Some well documented risk factors of cardiovascular morbidity (hypertension, obesity, low serum HDL-cholesterol) appeared to be unrelated to atherosclerotic manifestations in advanced old age. Hypertension, elevated serum-cholesterol and male sex, however, were significantly associated with cerebrovascular disease, as was smoking and male sex with peripheral vascular disease. The relatively low number of persons diagnosed with cerebrovascular disease.in the highest age-group (90-103 years) was probably due to selective mortality. In summary, this univariate analysis confirmed associations between cardiovascular morbidity, and risk factors also in advanced old age.