Predictors of cardiovascular health in teenagers (aged 13–14 years): a cross-sectional study linked with routine data

What is it about?

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the Western world. More recently, greater emphasis has been placed on the role of increased arterial stiffness, high blood pressure and sedentary behaviour as predictors of CVD risk in populations. Identifying and addressing CVD risk factors in early life could prevent or delay disease in later life. Our study identifies predictors of cardiovascular health in teenagers through data linkage with the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank. Routine health data was linked with baseline data collected during a physical activity intervention. There is relatively little previous research into early life and environmental impacts on young people’s cardiovascular health. Our study suggests that supporting breastfeeding, improving physical activity opportunities for teenagers in deprived areas, enabling teenagers with chronic health conditions to be active, and encouraging active transport at all ages may be beneficial to heart health.

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