Arterial Stiffness During the Early Years: Relationship with Adiposity and Physical Activity

Abstract

<p>Arterial stiffness is a natural and inevitable process for an ageing artery. In adults and school-aged children, increased stiffness of the central arteries is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD risk factors. Arterial stiffness, and its relationship with adiposity and physical activity (PA), has not been studied in preschool-aged children (3-5 years) despite the high prevalence of obesity and inactivity in this age group. Ninety-eight healthy preschoolers (4.4 ± 0.9 years; 50% boys) participated in this thesis, completing baseline and follow up assessments 12.5 ± 1.1 months apart. Whole-body PWV (carotid to dorsalis pedis; m/s) was used to assess arterial stiffness, body mass index percentile (BMI%ile) was a surrogate measure of adiposity, and PA levels (total, TPA; moderate-to-vigorous, MVPA) were quantified objectively with accelerometers and expressed as a percent of wear time. In our cohort, PWV increased significantly from baseline (4.3 m/s) to follow up (4.8 m/s; p< .001). PWV also tracked fair-to-moderately well (κ=0.25, r=0.37) with no sex differences (χ²=.485, p=.785). Girls had a higher BMI%ile than boys, and the prevalence of overweight/obese preschoolers increased from 18.8% to 21.3% over the 1-year period. Boys were more active than girls and engaged in more MVPA. 75% of preschoolers at baseline, and 70% at follow up, met the current PA guidelines (3-hrs of TPA/day). PWV was not related to BMI%ile or PA at baseline; however, it was weakly related to TPA (r=-0.28, p=.013) and MVPA (r=-0.25, p=.024) at follow up. Furthermore, longitudinal and cross-sectional regression models of sex, age, BMI%ile and TPA or MVPA could not predict PWV. Our findings indicate that adiposity and PA do not influence arterial stiffness in healthy 3 to 5 year old children. Nevertheless, maintaining a healthy body composition and engaging in regular PA has other health benefits and should be encouraged.</p>