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Dietary Intake and Arterial Stiffness in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review
Allanah Leed1, Emma Sheridan1, Brooke Baker1
1School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong 3216, Australia.
Insights
Dietary factors may influence childhood arterial stiffness, a cardiovascular disease risk. Research shows inconsistent findings, with limited evidence for protective effects of healthy diets and adverse effects from high fat, sodium, and fast food intake.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Health
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Public Health
Background:
- Arterial stiffness is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
- Diet plays a role in arterial stiffness, but its impact during childhood is under-researched.
- Understanding pediatric dietary influences on arterial stiffness is crucial for early disease prevention.
Conclusions:
- Some dietary factors may be associated with arterial stiffness in pediatric populations, but current evidence is inconsistent across study designs.
- Further high-quality longitudinal and intervention studies are necessary to confirm these associations and elucidate causal relationships.
- Early dietary interventions may be important for mitigating cardiovascular disease risk factors in children and adolescents.
Abstract:
Arterial stiffness is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease that is affected by diet. However, research understanding how these dietary risk factors are related to arterial stiffness during childhood is limited. The purpose of this review was to determine whether various dietary factors were associated with arterial stiffness in the pediatric population. Five databases were systematically searched. Intervention studies, cross-sectional and cohort studies were included that investigated nutrient or food intake and outcomes of arterial stiffness, primarily measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx), in the pediatric population (aged 0-18 years). A final 19 studies (six intervention and 13 observational) were included. Only two intervention studies, including a vitamin D and omega-3 supplementation trial, found protective effects on PWV and AIx in adolescents. Findings from observational studies were overall inconsistent and varied. There was limited evidence to indicate a protective effect of a healthy dietary pattern on arterial stiffness and an adverse effect of total fat intake, sodium intake and fast-food consumption. Overall, results indicated that some dietary factors may be associated with arterial stiffness in pediatric populations; however, inconsistencies were observed across all study designs. Further longitudinal and intervention studies are warranted to confirm the potential associations found in this review.
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