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[High prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in a pediatric population]
Germán Briceño1, Mónica Fernández1, Jaime Céspedes1
1Fundación Cardio-Infantil, Instituto de Cardiología.
Insights
Childhood cardiovascular disease risk factors are prevalent, with inadequate food habits and sedentary lifestyles affecting nearly all children studied. Obese and overweight children exhibited a significantly higher burden of these risk factors.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Cardiology
- Public Health
Context:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors often originate in childhood, potentially predicting adult CVD.
- Understanding childhood CVD risk factor prevalence is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose:
- To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children aged 3-17 years.
- The study focused on children of nurses at a health facility in Bogotá, Colombia.
Summary:
- A cross-sectional study of 118 children (mean age 7.4 years) found high rates of CVD risk factors: inadequate food habits (89.0%) and sedentary lifestyle (78.8%).
- Overweight (15.3%) and obesity (12.7%) were also prevalent. 97.5% of children had at least one risk factor, and 42.4% had three or more.
- Obese and overweight children showed significantly higher prevalence of sedentary lifestyles and inadequate food habits compared to normal-weight children.
Impact:
- The findings highlight a substantial burden of CVD risk factors in Colombian children, particularly those who are overweight or obese.
- This underscores the need for targeted public health strategies and interventions to address childhood obesity and related risk factors.
Introduction:
Cardiovascular disease risk factors begin in childhood. Their presence may predict cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
Objective:
To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in a group of nurses´ children at a health facility in Bogotá, Colombia.
Materials And Methods:
A cross-sectional, population-based observational study among 3-17 year-old individuals evaluated between June, 2011, and July, 2012.
Results:
A total number of 118 children were included. The mean age was 7.4 years, with a standard deviation of 3.86; 72.0% of the children had a normal weight. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was distributed as follows: inadequate food habits, 89.0%; sedentary lifestyle, 78.8%; family history of cardiovascular disease, 16.1%; overweight, 15.3%, and obesity, 12.7%. There were no significant differences in risk factors between boys and girls. Among overweight and obese children, sedentary lifestyle was present in 90.9%, and among normal-weight children, in 36.5% (p<0.001). Inadequate food habits were present in 84.8% of the overweight and obese children, and in 42.4% of those with normal weight (p<0.001). Among the study population, 97.5% had at least one risk factor and 42.4% presented 3 or more. The presence of 3 or more cardiovascular disease risk factors was higher in obese children, when compared to overweight (p<0.001) and normal-weight children (p<0.001).
Conclusions:
The results of this study indicate that there was a substantial burden of cardiovascular disease risk factors in the 3-17 year-old children included, particularly in those who were obese or overweight.
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