Review

Adolescence: A Critical Period for Long-Term Tracking of Risk for Coronary Heart Disease?
Lars Ovesen

National Heart Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark

Address of Corresponding Author

Ann Nutr Metab 2006;50:317-324 (DOI: 10.1159/000094294)

  Key Words

• Tracking of dietary and physical activity patterns
• Risk factors for coronary heart disease
• Screening programmes

  Abstract

Tracking of dietary and physical activity patterns throughout adolescence into adulthood is low, which indicates that risk patterns for coronary heart disease are not maintained. Biological risk factors for heart disease, particularly obesity and clusters of nutritionally modifiable risk factors (e.g. the metabolic syndrome), display somewhat higher tracking correlations. Tracking gives little guidance as to how to use this information for screening purposes. For behavioral and biological risk factors predictive values and sensitivities and specificities are generally low, suggesting that population-based approaches are likely to be more effective than targeting only the high-risk subset for reducing the risk of coronary heart disease.

Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Lars Ovesen, MD
National Heart Foundation, Hauser Plads 10
DK-1127 Copenhagen K (Denmark)
Tel. +45 3367 0010, Fax +45 3393 1245
E-Mail lovesen@hjerteforeningen.dk

  Article Information

Published online: June 28, 2006
Number of Print Pages : 8
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 67