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Sex-specific trajectories of measures of cardiovascular health during childhood and adolescence: A prospective cohort study

O'Keeffe, LM; Simpkin, AJ; Tilling, K; Anderson, EL; Hughes, AD; Lawlor, DA; Fraser, A; (2018) Sex-specific trajectories of measures of cardiovascular health during childhood and adolescence: A prospective cohort study. Atherosclerosis , 278 pp. 190-196. 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2018.09.030. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sex differences in measures of cardiovascular health in adults are well documented. However, the sex-specific aetiology of cardiovascular health across childhood and adolescence is poorly understood. METHODS: We examined sex differences in trajectories of 11 measures of cardiovascular health from birth to 18 years, in a contemporary birth cohort study in England (N participants per outcomes: 662-13,985, N repeated measures per outcome: 1,831-112,768). Outcomes were measured over varying time spans from birth or mid-childhood to age 18 and with different numbers of repeated measures per outcome. Analyses were performed using fractional polynomial and linear spline multilevel models. RESULTS: Females had higher mean BMI, height-adjusted fat mass, pulse rate, insulin, triglycerides, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and lower mean height-adjusted lean mass from birth or from mid-childhood to age 18. For example, mean non-HDL-c was 0.07 mmol/l (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.04, 0.10) higher in females compared with males at birth. By age 18, this difference persisted and widened to 0.19 mmol/l (95% CI, 0.16, 0.23) higher non-HDL-c in females compared with males. Females had lower levels of glucose from mid-childhood and developed lower systolic blood pressure and higher HDL-c from mid-adolescence onward. For example, females had 0.08 mmol/l (95% CI, 0.05, 0.10) lower mean glucose compared with males at age seven which widened to a difference of 0.22 mmol/l (95% CI, 0.25, 0.19) at age 18. CONCLUSIONS: Sex differences in measures of cardiovascular health are apparent from birth or mid-childhood and change during early life. These differences may have implications for sex-specific disease risk in future adult populations.

Type: Article
Title: Sex-specific trajectories of measures of cardiovascular health during childhood and adolescence: A prospective cohort study
Location: Ireland
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2018.09.030
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2018.09....
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Adolescence, Cardiovascular, Childhood, Longitudinal, Sex-specific
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Cardiovascular Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Cardiovascular Science > Population Science and Experimental Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10058475
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