Infant Psychosocial Environment Predicts Adolescent Cardiometabolic Risk: A Prospective Study

Objective To prospectively assess whether the infant psychosocial environment was associated with cardiometabolic risk as early as adolescence. Study design Participants were recruited in Santiago, Chile, and have been followed from infancy. Inclusion criteria included healthy infants with birth weight >= 3 kg and a stable caregiver. The psychosocial environment, including depressive symptoms, stressful life events, poor support for child development, father absence, and socioeconomic status, was reported by mothers at 6-12 months. Body mass index (BMI) z score was assessed at 5 and 10 years. BMI z score, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fat mass and body fat percentage, fasting glucose, total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and homeostatic model of insulin resistance were tested in adolescence. Results Adolescents ranged from 16 to 18 years of age (n = 588; 48.1 % female). A poorer infant psychosocial environment was associated with BMI z score at 10 years (beta = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.00-0.19) and in adolescence (beta = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.06-0.24) but not at 5 years. A poorer infant psychosocial environment was associated with higher blood pressure (beta = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.05-0.24), greater anthropometric risk (beta = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.03-0.22), greater biomarker (triglycerides, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, total cholesterol) risk (beta = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.02-0.22), and a higher likelihood of metabolic syndrome in adolescence (aOR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.062.12). Conclusions These findings demonstrate that a poorer infant psychosocial environment was associated with greater adolescent cardiometabolic risk. The results support screening for infants' psychosocial environments and further research into causality, mechanisms, prevention, and intervention.