Metabolic syndrome in childhood predicts adult cardiovascular disease 25 years later: The Princeton Lipid Research Clinics follow-up study

Objective. The goal was to assess the association of metabolic syndrome in childhood with adult cardiovascular disease 25 years later. Methods. Data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Lipid Research Clinics Princeton Prevalence Study (1973-1976) and the Princeton Follow-up Study (2000-2004) were used. BMI was used as the obesity measure in childhood, because waist circumference was not measured in the Lipid Research Clinics study. The adult cardiovascular disease status of participants and their parents was obtained through participant report. A logistic analysis was used to predict adult cardiovascular disease; pediatric metabolic syndrome, age at the Princeton Followup Study, gender, race, and parental history of cardiovascular disease were potential explanatory variables. Results. Ages ranged from 6 to 19 years in the Lipid Research Clinics study and from 30 to 48 years in the Princeton Follow-up Study. There were 17 cases of cardiovascular disease in the analysis cohort in the Princeton Follow-up Study. Pediatric metabolic syndrome and age at follow-up assessment were significant predictors of cardiovascular disease. Pediatric metabolic syndrome and changes in age-specific BMI percentile from childhood to adulthood were significant predictors of adult metabolic syndrome. Conclusions. Evaluating children for metabolic syndrome could identify patients at increased risk of adult cardiovascular disease, making targeted interventions possible.