Abstract P288: Parent-child Associations In Cardiovascular Health

Abstract

Introduction: Shared genetics may explain some of the strong heritability of cardiovascular (CV) disease, however, excess risk is largely due to intergenerational transmission of poor lifestyles leading to the increased presence of cardiovascular risk factors. We examined the association between parental and child CV health (CVH), including behavioral and clinical factors. Methods: Participants of the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschoolers Study (MAPS) and a parent (predominantly mothers) were recruited for a CVH exam when the child was 9-11 yrs (in 2018-19). Five CVH metrics were collected in children and parents: BMI and blood pressure via standardized measurements, and diet, physical activity and smoking via questionnaire. CVH was defined as the sum of ideal (2 points), intermediate (1 point) and poor (0 points) levels of the 5 metrics, as defined by the AHA. The overall CVH score (range: 0-10) was stratified into high (9-10), moderate (5-8) and low (0-4). Logistic regression was used to examine relationships between ideal CVH in children and various predictors, including parental employment, income, and ideal CVH. Results: Among 185 participants (53% female, 12% Non-Hispanic White, 52% non-Hispanic Black and 30% Hispanic; mean age 11) 5% had low, 75% moderate and 20% had high CVH. Looking at the metrics individually, poor diet was the most common (43%), followed by BMI (22%), physical activity (18%), smoking (2%), and BP (1%). Among the parents, 19% were in low, 71% moderate and 10% high CVH. After adjusting for race, age, and sex, the strongest predictor of a child’s CVH score was parental CVH score (p=0.007). If a parent had high CVH, the child was 5 times more likely to have high CVH (OR: 5.03, 95% CI: 1.55-16.33). Conclusions: In this MAPS cohort, there was an association between ideal CVH in parents and ideal pre-adolescence CVH in children. These results suggest that interventions to preserve and restore CVH must be family-based.