title: Associations between childhood body size, composition, blood pressure and adult cardiac structure: the Fels Longitudinal Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether childhood body size, composition and blood pressure are associated with adult cardiac structure by estimating childhood "age of divergence."
  
  
  METHODS
  385 female and 312 male participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study had echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular mass, relative wall thickness, and interventricular septal thickness. Also available were anthropometric measurements of body mass index, waist circumference, percentage body fat, fat free mass, total body fat, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures, taken in both childhood and adulthood. The age of divergence is estimated as the lowest age at which childhood measurements are significantly different between patients with low and high measurements of adult cardiac structure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Childhood body mass index is significantly associated with adult left ventricular mass (indexed by height) in men and women (ages of divergence: 7.5 years and 11.5 years, respectively), and with adult interventricular septal thickness in boys (age of divergence: 9 years). Childhood waist circumference indexed by height is associated with left ventricular mass (indexed by height) in boys (age of divergence: 8 years). Cardiac structure was in general not associated with childhood body composition and blood pressure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Though results are affected by adult body size, composition and blood pressure, some aspects of adult cardiac structure may have their genesis in childhood body size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Roy T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Sabo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Miao-Shan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shumei S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D055105:Waist Circumference