Early-life cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood

WANG Yang; MU Jianjun

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2026-0798

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (10) : 1063-1068. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2026-0798

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Early-life cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood

WANG Yang, MU Jianjun

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Abstract

Cardiovascular disease develops across the life course. Growing evidence from long-term cohort studies indicates that overweight and obesity, elevated blood pressure, dyslipidemia, abnormal glucose metabolism, tobacco exposure, physical inactivity, and unhealthy dietary patterns during childhood and adolescence may persist or track into adulthood and are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness, cardiac and renal target-organ damage, and clinical cardiovascular events. The clustering of multiple risk factors in childhood and the resulting cumulative burden over time may better characterize later cardiovascular risk than abnormalities in any single risk factor. Importantly, improvements in weight status, blood pressure, and lipid profiles by adulthood are associated with substantially lower long-term risk, highlighting childhood as a critical window for prevention. Drawing on evidence from major international cardiovascular cohorts beginning in childhood and the Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension Cohort, this article systematically reviews the associations between major childhood cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood and offers recommendations for prevention and control, emphasizing comprehensive risk screening, coordinated family-school-community interventions, continuous follow-up, and cardiovascular health management across the life course.

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childhood / cardiovascular risk factors / cardiovascular disease / life course / prevention

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WANG Yang, MU Jianjun. Early-life cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2026, 34(10): 1063-1068 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2026-0798

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