Sex-Specific Changes of CVD Risk Factors from Childhood to Young Adulthood

A prospective UK birth cohort study demonstrate that marked changes in levels of risk factors and novel predictive biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) occur from childhood to early adulthood. The data were from 7065 to 7626 offspring of a birth cohort study with repeat assessments of 148 molecular cardiometabolic traits from comprehensive metabolomic profiling at ages 7, 15, 18 and 25 years. Females had higher very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particle concentrations at 7 years. VLDL particle concentrations decreased from 7 years to 25 years with larger decreases and lower VLDL particle concentrations at 25 years in females. Females had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particle concentrations at 7 years. HDL particle concentrations increased from 7 years to 25 years with larger increases and higher HDL particle concentrations in females at 25 years. Findings of another study in the parents of participants in this cohort suggest that the differences may track into mid-life and have potential clinical significance. The results are comparable with longitudinal studies of conventional CVD risk factors. CVD risk tends to appear higher in males until mid-life, after which risk becomes more similar between females and males. Source: https://heart.bmj.com/; https://link.springer.com/