Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Cardiovascular health across childhood and adolescence and proteomic biomarkers in late adolescence
- Prospective cohort study
Authors' conclusion
We identified novel protein biomarkers reflecting adolescent CVH and cumulative impact of childhood CVH trajectories, which may inform preventive strategies early in life to alter CVD progression.
Study context
- Population
- Children followed from early childhood to late adolescence (cardiovascular health (CVH) scores at median ages 3.2, 7.7, 13 and 17.5y)
- Participants
- 424 children
- Outcome
- Associations of CVH score and trajectory parameters with 92 CV-related plasma proteins
- Follow-up
- Late adolescence (17.5y)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Late-adolescent CVH (points), mean (SD)
- 75.5 (10.5)
- CVH slope before inflection (points/y)
- 0.6 (1.4)
- Timing of inflection (y)
- 10.1y (0.7)
- CVH slope after inflection (points/y)
- −1.2 (1.2)
- Cross-sectionally, 1-SD higher CVH associated with differentially abundant proteins (DAPs); 5 robust (log2-fold change ≥|0.2|): higher FGF-21, HAOX1, IL-1ra, LEP, lower GH
- 29
- Longitudinally, 1-SD increments in CVH trajectory parameters associated with up to this many DAPs; timing of inflection with higher LEP; slope after inflection with higher IL-1ra, LEP, SERPINA12
- 13
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Cardiovascular health across childhood and adolescence and proteomic biomarkers in late adolescence. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 3 April 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag176
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it