title: Cardiovascular risk profile of young adults: changes over time.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The high prevalence and natural history of atherosclerosis make young people important targets for cardiovascular prevention. This study aimed to analyze changes over time in the cardiovascular risk profile of a population of healthy young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 923 Portuguese Air Force applicants between 1991 and 2007, divided into two-year periods. In addition to cardiovascular risk factors, the Framingham score and HeartScore were calculated for age 65. Cochran-Armitage and Jonckheere-Terpstra tests for trend were used for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age was 19.2 ± 2.3 years (p = 0.34) and 55 applicants (6%) were female (p = 0.56). Mean body mass index was 22.4 ± 2.5 kg (p for trend 0.35). The number of smokers decreased over the study period (11.6 vs. 7.0%, p for trend 0.02). Of the total number of applicants, 122 (13.2%) were classified as hypertensive. Mean systolic blood pressure was 127 ± 12 mmHg and increased significantly over time (122 ± 13 vs. 128 ± 11 mmHg, p for trend <0.001). Hypercholesterolemia was found in 108 applicants (11.7%) and total cholesterol showed an improvement (170 ± 35 vs. 155 ± 26 mg/dl, p for trend <0.001). The mean modified Framingham score was 12.6 ± 5.1 and improved over the study period (12.9 ± 5.9% vs. 11.9 ± 4.7%, p for trend 0.006). The mean modified HeartScore was 3.2 ± 1.4 and remained unchanged (p for trend 0.10).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our population, except for an increase in systolic blood pressure values, there was an overall improvement in cardiovascular risk from 1991 to 2007. Further studies are needed to better assess the situation in Portugal and help devise preventive strategies in young people.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Hospital de Santa Cruz, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, Oeiras, Portugal. Electronic address: atralhao@gmail.com.
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tralhão
authors.affiliation: Centro de Medicina Aeronáutica, Força Aérea Portuguesa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro Jerónimo
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Hospital de Santa Cruz, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, Oeiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: António Miguel
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Forças Armadas, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mafalda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.affiliation: Centro de Medicina Aeronáutica, Força Aérea Portuguesa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: José Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Monge
authors.affiliation: Centro de Medicina Aeronáutica, Força Aérea Portuguesa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomé
authors.affiliation: Direcção da Saúde, Força Aérea Portuguesa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: José Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Duarte
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adultos jovens; Cardiovascular risk; Framingham score; HeartSCORE; HeartScore; Risco cardiovascular; Score de Framingham; Young adults