Cardiovascular risk factors in adolescence: prevalence and familial aggregation

Abstract

Background: In the field of primary prevention there is an increasing interest in screening pediatric populations for cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of this study was to determine the overall prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP), obesity, and sedentariness in a population of adolescents. The presence of familial aggregation for these factors was also evaluated.

Methods: The prevalence of HBP, obesity, and low physical activity was determined in 1413 adolescents ages 12-15 years (705 males, 698 females) randomly selected from Turin school children. The prevalence of HBP and obesity in parents was determined.

Results: One risk factor was found in 40.9% of females (2.4% HBP, 8.6% obesity, and 29.9% sedentariness) and 39.6% of males (2.8% HBP, 16.4% obesity, and 20.4% sedentariness); the concomitance of two or three risk factors were present, respectively, in 9.9 and 2.7% of females and 10.9 and 1.1% of males with a strong association of obesity and HBP. A significant familial aggregation for obesity was found and no particular relationship was found for BP.

Conclusion: The ability to identify children developing a single or multiple risk factors is an important contribution to the prevention of serious cardiovascular diseases in adulthood.