Determinants of risk for cardiovascular disease during school-age/adolescent transition

During the past two decades, emphasis has been placed on exploring the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) during childhood. Hypercholesterolemia, the most prevalent of the CVD risk factors among children, has been the focus of some large population-based studies. These studies tend to relate only to the physiological aspect of the school-age/adolescent transitional phase and do not necessarily address the collective contributions of the early adolescent experience, including psychosocial and cognitive factors. Thus, minimal information exists on the determinants of the CVD risk factor during this time of growth and rapid developmental change. Relatively unexplored are the interrelationships among the determinants of hypercholesterolemia (and CVD) observed in studies of adults, including sociodemographic, biodevelopmental and behavioral factors. Since the adolescent transition is a critical period for the formation of health-promoting behaviors, knowledge of these interrelationships is requisite to developing specific and timely preventive interventions. An adaptation of the Health Promotion Model is used to guide the exploration of the knowledge to date regarding the sociodemographic, biodevelopmental and behavioral factors in the school-age/adolescent population.