XXXX and carotid-intima media thickness in @entity1 and adolescents: a systematic review.

@entity1 @entity101 @entity65 @entity731 @entity1386
BACKGROUND: @entity1386 in childhood is associated with later @entity65 ( @entity65 ), but it is unclear whether this relationship is independent of other risk factors experienced in later life, such as smoking and @entity101 . Carotid-intima media thickness (cIMT) is a measure of subclinical @entity731 that may be used to assess @entity65 risk in young @entity1 . The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between adiposity and cIMT in @entity1 and adolescents. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, Global Health, and CINAHL Plus electronic databases (1980-2014). Population-based observational studies that reported a measure of association between objectively-measured adiposity and cIMT in childhood were included in this review. RESULTS: Twenty-two cross-sectional studies were included (n   =   7,366 @entity1 and adolescents). Thirteen of nineteen studies conducted in adolescent populations (mean age >= 12  years, n   =   5,986) reported positive associations between cIMT and adiposity measures (correlation coefficients 0.13 to 0.59). Three studies of pre-adolescent populations (n   =   1,380) reported mixed evidence, two studies finding no evidence of a correlation, and one an inverse relationship between skinfolds and cIMT. Included studies did not report an adiposity threshold for subclinical @entity731 . CONCLUSIONS: Based on studies conducted mostly in Western Europe and the US, adiposity does not appear to be associated with cIMT in pre-adolescents, but may be associated in adolescents. If further studies confirm these findings, a focus on @entity65 prevention efforts in pre-adolescence, before arterial changes have emerged, may be justified.
