Abstract
This cross‐sectional study was undertaken to assess the occurrence of conventional cardiovascular risk factors in Estonian school children after the socioeconomic changes of the early 1990s. A total of 1018 9‐, 12‐ and 15‐y‐old randomly selected children were studied for lipid and lipoprotein profiles, blood pressure, weight, height, regular smoking, physical activity and family history of premature cardiovascular disease. In 11–24 % of the children, total cholesterol levels were at or above the risk cut‐off of 5.2 mmol l‐1, 3‐5% of the children were considered to be obese and 6‐12% had blood pressure higher than the age‐ and gender‐specific 95th percentile of height. Of the 15‐y‐old girls and boys, 1% and 10%, respectively, admitted being daily smokers. Five percent of girls and 20% of boys smoked at least once a week. Ten to 18% of children reported little physical activity. According to age groups, 17‐25% of the children had a family history of premature cardiovascular disease. The occurrence of three or more risk factors simultaneously characterized only the older age group, in which 2.3% of girls and 3.5% of boys exhibited clustering of potential cardiovascular risk factors. Our findings showed a relatively low frequency of obesity and low mean blood lipid levels with a high proportion of smokers among children in late puberty, implying that preventive efforts should focus on pubertal children to prevent adverse health behaviour.
Published Version
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