Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Childhood and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood

Top Cited Papers
Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Atherosclerosis is thought to begin in childhood and to develop silently for decades before clinical events such as myocardial infarction or stroke occur. Autopsy studies in children and adolescents have confirmed the presence of preclinical atherosclerotic lesions and shown their associations with antemortem vascular risk factors.1-3 Studies using ultrasound imaging have demonstrated atherosclerotic wall thickening in the arteries of children with risk factors.4-6 Longitudinal studies have shown that risk factor levels measured in childhood are predictive of risk factor levels in adulthood.7-9 Moreover, levels of serum cholesterol measured in young adult men have been associated with cardiovascular disease in midlife.10,11 Although these observations suggest that risk factors identified in childhood are predictive of adult atherosclerosis, there is only limited direct evidence of this relationship.12,13