BACKGROUND: Among young adults, the metabolic syndrome is an increasingly frequent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Its determinants are, however, incompletely understood. We investigated the time course, from adolescence (age, 13 years) to young adulthood (age, 36 years), of important potential determinants (body fatness and fat distribution, cardiopulmonary fitness, and lifestyle) in 364 individuals (189 women). METHODS: Data were derived from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study and analyzed with the use of generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome at the age of 36 years, as identified with a modified National Cholesterol Education Program definition of the syndrome, was 10.4%. Subjects with the metabolic syndrome at the age of 36 years, compared with those without the syndrome, had (from adolescence to the age of 36 years) the following: (1) a more marked increase in total body fatness and in subcutaneous trunk fat; (2) a more marked decrease in cardiopulmonary fitness levels; (3) a more marked increase in physical activities of light-to-moderate intensity, but a more marked decrease in hard physical activities; (4) a trend toward a higher energy intake throughout the years; and (5) a decreased likelihood of drinking alcoholic beverages. CONCLUSIONS: Fatness, fitness, and lifestyle are important determinants of the metabolic syndrome in young adults. More important, these associations were independent of each other and, therefore, represent separate potential targets for the prevention of the metabolic syndrome. Our study further suggests that intervening early in life (eg, in the period of transition from adolescence to adulthood) may be a fruitful area for prevention of the metabolic syndrome.
BACKGROUND: Among young adults, the metabolic syndrome is an increasingly frequent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Its determinants are, however, incompletely understood. We investigated the time course, from adolescence (age, 13 years) to young adulthood (age, 36 years), of important potential determinants (body fatness and fat distribution, cardiopulmonary fitness, and lifestyle) in 364 individuals (189 women). METHODS: Data were derived from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study and analyzed with the use of generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome at the age of 36 years, as identified with a modified National Cholesterol Education Program definition of the syndrome, was 10.4%. Subjects with the metabolic syndrome at the age of 36 years, compared with those without the syndrome, had (from adolescence to the age of 36 years) the following: (1) a more marked increase in total body fatness and in subcutaneous trunk fat; (2) a more marked decrease in cardiopulmonary fitness levels; (3) a more marked increase in physical activities of light-to-moderate intensity, but a more marked decrease in hard physical activities; (4) a trend toward a higher energy intake throughout the years; and (5) a decreased likelihood of drinking alcoholic beverages. CONCLUSIONS:Fatness, fitness, and lifestyle are important determinants of the metabolic syndrome in young adults. More important, these associations were independent of each other and, therefore, represent separate potential targets for the prevention of the metabolic syndrome. Our study further suggests that intervening early in life (eg, in the period of transition from adolescence to adulthood) may be a fruitful area for prevention of the metabolic syndrome.
Authors: Véronique L Roger; Alan S Go; Donald M Lloyd-Jones; Emelia J Benjamin; Jarett D Berry; William B Borden; Dawn M Bravata; Shifan Dai; Earl S Ford; Caroline S Fox; Heather J Fullerton; Cathleen Gillespie; Susan M Hailpern; John A Heit; Virginia J Howard; Brett M Kissela; Steven J Kittner; Daniel T Lackland; Judith H Lichtman; Lynda D Lisabeth; Diane M Makuc; Gregory M Marcus; Ariane Marelli; David B Matchar; Claudia S Moy; Dariush Mozaffarian; Michael E Mussolino; Graham Nichol; Nina P Paynter; Elsayed Z Soliman; Paul D Sorlie; Nona Sotoodehnia; Tanya N Turan; Salim S Virani; Nathan D Wong; Daniel Woo; Melanie B Turner Journal: Circulation Date: 2011-12-15 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Véronique L Roger; Alan S Go; Donald M Lloyd-Jones; Robert J Adams; Jarett D Berry; Todd M Brown; Mercedes R Carnethon; Shifan Dai; Giovanni de Simone; Earl S Ford; Caroline S Fox; Heather J Fullerton; Cathleen Gillespie; Kurt J Greenlund; Susan M Hailpern; John A Heit; P Michael Ho; Virginia J Howard; Brett M Kissela; Steven J Kittner; Daniel T Lackland; Judith H Lichtman; Lynda D Lisabeth; Diane M Makuc; Gregory M Marcus; Ariane Marelli; David B Matchar; Mary M McDermott; James B Meigs; Claudia S Moy; Dariush Mozaffarian; Michael E Mussolino; Graham Nichol; Nina P Paynter; Wayne D Rosamond; Paul D Sorlie; Randall S Stafford; Tanya N Turan; Melanie B Turner; Nathan D Wong; Judith Wylie-Rosett Journal: Circulation Date: 2010-12-15 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Alan S Go; Dariush Mozaffarian; Véronique L Roger; Emelia J Benjamin; Jarett D Berry; Michael J Blaha; Shifan Dai; Earl S Ford; Caroline S Fox; Sheila Franco; Heather J Fullerton; Cathleen Gillespie; Susan M Hailpern; John A Heit; Virginia J Howard; Mark D Huffman; Suzanne E Judd; Brett M Kissela; Steven J Kittner; Daniel T Lackland; Judith H Lichtman; Lynda D Lisabeth; Rachel H Mackey; David J Magid; Gregory M Marcus; Ariane Marelli; David B Matchar; Darren K McGuire; Emile R Mohler; Claudia S Moy; Michael E Mussolino; Robert W Neumar; Graham Nichol; Dilip K Pandey; Nina P Paynter; Matthew J Reeves; Paul D Sorlie; Joel Stein; Amytis Towfighi; Tanya N Turan; Salim S Virani; Nathan D Wong; Daniel Woo; Melanie B Turner Journal: Circulation Date: 2013-12-18 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Emelia J Benjamin; Michael J Blaha; Stephanie E Chiuve; Mary Cushman; Sandeep R Das; Rajat Deo; Sarah D de Ferranti; James Floyd; Myriam Fornage; Cathleen Gillespie; Carmen R Isasi; Monik C Jiménez; Lori Chaffin Jordan; Suzanne E Judd; Daniel Lackland; Judith H Lichtman; Lynda Lisabeth; Simin Liu; Chris T Longenecker; Rachel H Mackey; Kunihiro Matsushita; Dariush Mozaffarian; Michael E Mussolino; Khurram Nasir; Robert W Neumar; Latha Palaniappan; Dilip K Pandey; Ravi R Thiagarajan; Mathew J Reeves; Matthew Ritchey; Carlos J Rodriguez; Gregory A Roth; Wayne D Rosamond; Comilla Sasson; Amytis Towfighi; Connie W Tsao; Melanie B Turner; Salim S Virani; Jenifer H Voeks; Joshua Z Willey; John T Wilkins; Jason Hy Wu; Heather M Alger; Sally S Wong; Paul Muntner Journal: Circulation Date: 2017-01-25 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Alan S Go; Dariush Mozaffarian; Véronique L Roger; Emelia J Benjamin; Jarett D Berry; William B Borden; Dawn M Bravata; Shifan Dai; Earl S Ford; Caroline S Fox; Sheila Franco; Heather J Fullerton; Cathleen Gillespie; Susan M Hailpern; John A Heit; Virginia J Howard; Mark D Huffman; Brett M Kissela; Steven J Kittner; Daniel T Lackland; Judith H Lichtman; Lynda D Lisabeth; David Magid; Gregory M Marcus; Ariane Marelli; David B Matchar; Darren K McGuire; Emile R Mohler; Claudia S Moy; Michael E Mussolino; Graham Nichol; Nina P Paynter; Pamela J Schreiner; Paul D Sorlie; Joel Stein; Tanya N Turan; Salim S Virani; Nathan D Wong; Daniel Woo; Melanie B Turner Journal: Circulation Date: 2012-12-12 Impact factor: 29.690