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Positive childhood psychosocial environment may reduce risk for CAC in adulthood
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Those with psychosocial well-being in childhood appear to have reduced risk for coronary artery calcification in adulthood, according to findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Researchers analyzed data from the longitudinal Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study in 1980 and 2008, in which 311 people (48.2% men or boys) had psychosocial factors measured at age 12 and 18 years and coronary artery calcification (CAC) measured 28 years later, at age 40 to 46 years.
The six psychosocial factors were as follows: favorable socioeconomic factors, favorable emotional family environment, optimal health behaviors of parents, lack of stressful events, self-regulatory behavior and social adjustment. They were totaled into a summary score.
Markus Juonala, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that 17.7% of participants had any CAC in adulthood (CAC score 1-10, 9%; CAC score 11-100, 6.5%; CAC score > 100, 2.2%).
For every 1-standard deviation increase in a favorable summary score of childhood psychosocial factors, the researchers found a reduced probability for CAC in adulthood (OR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76-0.95).
This remained true after adjustment for age, sex and conventional childhood risk factors (OR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74-0.97), as well as after adjustment for age, sex, childhood risk factors, socioeconomic status, social support and depressive symptoms (OR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.71-0.97), Juonala, from the department of medicine, University of Turku, Finland, and colleagues found.
The psychosocial behavior most associated with CAC development was self-regulatory behavior (adjusted OR per 1-standard deviation increase = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38-0.92), and the coronary artery region most affected by childhood psychosocial factor score was the left anterior descending (adjusted OR per 1-standard deviation increase = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.72-0.99), according to the researchers.
“Our findings underscore the need for increased awareness of promoting positive psychosocial health in childhood,” Juonala and colleagues wrote. “Because data on many of the factors used in the summative score could be readily gathered at diverse health service encounters, these data might be used in targeted family interventions for primary prevention, especially in those at greatest risk.” – by Erik Swain
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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