A life course approach to cardiovascular aging

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• A life course approach examines biological, behavioral, and social pathways linking exposures across life stages to health outcomes.
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is influenced by factors accumulating from gestation through adulthood.
• Understanding developmental trajectories of risk factors is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To illustrate the application of a life course approach in cardiovascular disease epidemiology.
• To highlight evidence supporting the early origins of disease risk.
• To explore how cardiometabolic risk factor trajectories change over the life course.

Main Methods:

• Review and synthesis of existing epidemiological studies applying a life course perspective to cardiovascular disease.
• Analysis of data on the changing patterns of cardiometabolic risk factors throughout human development.
• Identification of key exposures and experiences across the lifespan that impact disease risk.

Main Results:

• Evidence supports the concept of early origins of cardiovascular disease risk, with exposures in gestation, childhood, and adolescence having lasting impacts.
• Cardiometabolic risk factors exhibit distinct trajectories across the life course, influenced by a combination of biological, behavioral, and social factors.
• Deviations from healthy trajectories are linked to increased future disease risk.

Conclusions:

• A life course approach provides a valuable framework for understanding the multifactorial etiology of cardiovascular disease.
• Identifying 'normal' or 'healthy' developmental trajectories of risk factors is key to developing effective early prevention strategies.
• Interventions targeting deviations from healthy trajectories hold promise for preventing future cardiovascular disease.