R. Milligan

Parental smoking and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in 10- to 12-year-old children☆☆☆★★★

OBJECTIVE Smokers have multiple adverse health-related behaviors and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We examined whether health behaviors in parents who smoke may influence childrens health behaviors. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional data from 10- to 12-year-olds (n = 800) entering a trial of health promotion programs. RESULTS Smoking in children was independently associated with maternal (odds ratio 2.1, confidence interval 1.2, 3.8) and paternal smoking (odds ratio 2.1, confidence interval 1.2, 3.7) and was less likely in girls (odds ratio 0.4, confidence interval 0.2, 0.6). Maternal smoking and paternal smoking were additive predictors in children of lower physical activity (P = .0013 for mothers; P = .0476 for fathers) and more television watching (P = .0335 for mothers; P = .0241 for fathers). Childrens fat intake was significantly greater if either parent smoked. Childrens body mass index (P = .0183) and waist-to-hip ratio (P = .0009) were significantly greater if mothers smoked. CONCLUSIONS Poor health behaviors associated with smoking in parents, particularly mothers, are likely to influence childrens long-term risk of having lifestyle diseases. The results may also explain some of the apparent effects attributed to passive smoking in families.

Clustering of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Australian Adolescents: Association with Dietary Excesses and Deficiencies

Background: Effective cardiovascular disease prevention requires strategies aimed at those children and adolescents most at risk. This study was designed to identify adolescents with clustering of higher levels of cardiovascular risk factors related to diet, blood pressure, fitness, fatness and blood cholesterol. Methods: A representative sample of 555 schoolchildren aged 15 years from the Perth, Australia metropolitan area, was included in a cross-sectional survey analysing relationships between nutrient intake, fitness, physical activity, percentage of body fat, blood pressure and heart rate. Results: Cluster analysis identified 21.1% of boys and 20.7% of girls with significantly worse risk profiles. Higher cardiovascular risk was associated with both dietary excesses, particularly in fat, cholesterol and sodium intake, and deficiencies of a number of minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre. Socioeconomic status was inversely associated with cardiovascular risk and undernutrition in girls. Conclusions: The analysis has identified a subgroup of about 21% of 15-year-old schoolchildren who share features of a range of unhealthy lifestyle variables, putting them at substantial risk of cardiovascular disease and other ill health in later life.