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Early childhood intervention improved adult health
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New research showed an increase in adult health after nutritional and educational initiatives were used as intervention strategies in young children, particularly for males.
The risk for high blood pressure and increased BMI was lower in adults older than 30 years who participated in the Carolina Abecedarian Project as children. In the project, participants were divided into treatment and control groups. The treatment group was provided with educational, health care and nutritional intervention in children aged 0 to 5 years. The intervention component consisted of stimulation and social activities and supervised play for 8 hours a day. Daily nutrition, health care checkups and the availability of health care for the sick were also provided.
Gabriella Conti
As adults, treated males had lower values of both diastolic and systolic BP by an average of 13.5 mm Hg (P=.024) and of 17.5 mm Hg (P=.018), respectively, and were less likely to have hypertension. HDL cholesterol levels averaged 42 mg/dL and were 11 mg/dL higher in treated males, with but only marginal statistical significance (P=.066). Control males were twice as likely to experience vitamin D deficiency (vitamin D <20 ng/mL; P=.021). Only marginal improvements were seen among women.
“Prior to this research, we had indications that quality early childhood interventions that enrich the environments of disadvantaged children helped produce better health later in life,” study researcher Gabriella Conti, PhD, from the University College London Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, said in a press release. “Abecedarian shows that investing in early childhood programs that offer a nurturing and stimulating environment, together with health care and nutritional components, can promote health and prevent disease. It also shows that an integrated developmental approach to health offers a different way to fight costly adult chronic diseases.”
Disclosures: See the article for a full list of financial disclosures.
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