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Childhood BMI linked to early ischemic stroke

Increases in BMI during childhood and above-average BMI in childhood was associated with the age a person had an ischemic stroke, according to findings recently published in JAMA Neurology.

“Studies investigating the associations between childhood BMI and adult ischemic stroke have shown inconsistent results,” Line K. Gjaerde, MD, of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research in Denmark and colleagues wrote. “Because the prevalence of childhood obesity is high in many countries, it is important to clarify the association between childhood BMI and risk of adult ischemic stroke, especially at younger adult ages, to justify earlier targeted prevention.”

Researchers conducted a cohort study of 307,677 children born from 1930 to 1987, then followed up with data from 1977 to 2012. Birth weight, childhood BMI, change in BMI and age at ischemic stroke (older or younger than 55) were recorded. During the study period, 5,370 men and 3,529 women had an ischemic stroke.

Gjaerde and colleagues found that in participants aged 7 to 13 years, an above-average BMI z score was positively associated to early ischemic stroke. At age 13 years, a BMI z score of 1 was connected to an HR of 1.26 (95% CI, 1.11-1.43) in women and an HR of 1.21 (95% CI, 1.10-1.33) in men. In children with above-average BMI z scores at age 7 years, a score increase of 0.5 from ages 7 to 13 years was positively associated with early ischemic stroke in men (HR = 1.08; 95% CI, 1-1.16) and in women (HR = 1.1; 95% CI, 1.01-1.2).

In addition, children with below-average BMI z scores at age 7 years, a score increase of 0.5 from ages 7 to 13 years was connected to early ischemic stroke in men (HR = 1.1; 95% CI, 1.04-1.18) and women (HR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.06-1.23). Accommodating for birth weight had little impact on the associations, and no significant associations were found for below-average BMI z scores.

“Because childhood obesity is difficult to prevent and treatment often fails, these findings suggest that the initiation of early personalized medicine may need to be undertaken to reduce the risk of early stroke among these individuals, in addition to weight reduction or maintenance,” Gjaerde and colleagues wrote. – by Janel Miller

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.