(30-11-11) Childhood adiposity, adult adiposity, and cardiovascular risk factors.

Juonala M, Magnussen CG, Berenson GS, Venn A, Burns TL, Sabin MA, Srinivasan
SR, Daniels SR, Davis PH, Chen W, Sun C, Cheung M, Viikari JS, Dwyer T,
Raitakari OT.
Source
Research Center of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine Department
of Medicine, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Obesity in childhood is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. It is
uncertain whether this risk is attenuated in persons who are overweight or
obese as children but not obese as adults.

METHODS:
We analyzed data from four prospective cohort studies that measured childhood
and adult body-mass index (BMI, the weight in kilograms divided by the square
of the height in meters). The mean length of follow-up was 23 years. To define
high adiposity status, international age-specific and sex-specific BMI cutoff
points for overweight and obesity were used for children, and a BMI cutoff
point of 30 was used for adults.

RESULTS:
Data were available for 6328 subjects. Subjects with consistently high
adiposity status from childhood to adulthood, as compared with persons who had
a normal BMI as children and were nonobese as adults, had an increased risk of
type 2 diabetes (relative risk, 5.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.4 to 8.5),
hypertension (relative risk, 2.7; 95% CI, 2.2 to 3.3), elevated low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol levels (relative risk, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4 to 2.3),
reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (relative risk, 2.1; 95%
CI, 1.8 to 2.5), elevated triglyceride levels (relative risk, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.4
to 3.8), and carotid-artery atherosclerosis (increased intima-media thickness
of the carotid artery) (relative risk, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.4 to 2.2) (P ?? 0.002 for
all comparisons). Persons who were overweight or obese during childhood but
were nonobese as adults had risks of the outcomes that were similar to those of
persons who had a normal BMI consistently from childhood to adulthood (P>0.20
for all comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS:
Overweight or obese children who were obese as adults had increased risks of
type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and carotid-artery
atherosclerosis. The risks of these outcomes among overweight or obese children
who became nonobese by adulthood were similar to those among persons who were
never obese. (Funded by the Academy of Finland and others.).

Comment in
N Engl J Med. 2011 Nov 17;365(20):1927-9.
N Engl J Med. 2011 Nov 17;365(20):1876-85.

News

---

In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.