title: Childhood environmental and genetic predictors of adulthood obesity: the cardiovascular risk in young Finns study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity from childhood to adulthood is associated with adverse health later in life. Increased youth BMI is a risk factor for later obesity, but it is unknown whether identification of other risk factors, including recently discovered genetic markers, would help to identify children at risk of developing adult obesity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our objective was to examine the childhood environmental and genetic predictors of adult obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We followed 2119 individuals of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study for up to 27 yr since baseline (1980, age 3-18 yr).
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated adult obesity [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2)].
  
  
  RESULTS
  The independent predictors (P < 0.05) of adult obesity included childhood BMI, C-reactive protein (CRP), family income (inverse), mother's BMI, and polymorphisms near genes TFAP2B, LRRN6C, and FLJ35579. A risk assessment based on childhood BMI, mother's BMI, and family income was superior in predicting obesity compared with the approach using data only on BMI (C-statistics 0.751 vs. 0.772, P = 0.0015). Inclusion of data on childhood CRP and novel genetic variants for BMI did not incrementally improve C-value (0.779, P = 0.16). A nonlaboratory risk score (childhood BMI, mother's BMI, and family income) predicted adult obesity in all age groups between 3-18 yr (P always <0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood BMI, CRP, family income (inversely), mother's BMI, and polymorphisms near genes FLJ35779, TFAP2B, and LRRN6C are independently related to adulthood obesity. However, because genetic risk markers and CRP only marginally improve the prediction, our results indicate that children at high risk of adult obesity can be identified using a simple non-laboratory-based risk assessment.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, FIN-20520 Finland. markus.juonala@utu.fi
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Juonala
authors.forename: Jonna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Juhola
authors.forename: Costan G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Magnussen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Würtz
authors.forename: Jorma S A
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Viikari
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Seppälä
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hernesniemi
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kähönen
authors.forename: Terho
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehtimäki
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hurme
authors.forename: Risto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Telama
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mikkilä
authors.forename: Carita
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eklund
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Räsänen
authors.forename: Mirka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hintsanen
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keltikangas-Järvinen
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
authors.forename: Olli T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Raitakari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D012306:Risk; D012931:Social Environment