title: A longitudinal study through adolescence to adulthood: the Young Hearts Project, Northern Ireland.
abstract: The Young Hearts (YH) Project is an ongoing study of biological and behavioural risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a representative sample of young people from Northern Ireland, a region of high coronary mortality. This article describes the cross-sectional clinical, dietary and lifestyle data obtained from individuals (aged 20-25 y) who participated in phase 3 of the project (YH3). A total of 489 individuals (251 males, 238 females) participated in YH3 (48.2% response rate). Some 31.1% of participants at YH3 were overweight (BMI >25 kg/m(2)) with 4.4% of males and 8.0% of females were obese (BMI >30 kg/m(2)). More females than males had a very poor fitness (55.0 vs 22.1%, chi-squared 51.70, d.f. 1, P<0.001) and did not participate in any sporting or exercise activity (38.4 vs 24.9%, chi-squared 10.26, d.f. 1, P=0.001). Over 20% of participants had a raised total serum cholesterol (>5.2 mmol/l). More females had a raised serum LDL-cholesterol (>3.0 mmol/l) than males (44.6 vs 34.6%, chi-squared 4.39, d.f. 1, P<0.05). Over 46% of participants reported energy intakes from fat above recommended levels, and 68.5% of participants had saturated fat intakes above those recommended (Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom. HMSO: London, 1991). Just over half of the study population reported alcohol intakes in excess of recommended sensible limits set by the Royal College of Physicians (A great and growing evil: the medical consequences of alcohol abuse. Tavistock: London, 1987), with 36.7% of males and 13.4% of females reporting intakes over twice these recommended limits. A total of 37% of the study population smoked. During young adulthood, individuals may be less amenable to attend a health-related study and recruitment of participants to the current phase of the study proved a major problem. However, these data constitute a unique developmental record from adolescence to young adulthood in a cohort from Northern Ireland and provide additional information on the impact of early life, childhood and young adulthood on the development of risk for chronic disease.
authors.affiliation: Northern Ireland Centre for Diet and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UK. am.gallagher@ulster.ac.uk
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Davey Smith
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Robson
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Neville
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cran
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Strain
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Boreham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009660:Northern Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol