One Million U.S. Teens Have Heart-Disease Risk, Report Says
Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- About 1 million U.S. teenagers have high blood pressure, high blood-sugar levels or other conditions that may put them at risk of heart disease later in life, according to an American Heart Association report.
The number, which represents about 4.2 percent of the 12- to 19-year-olds in the U.S., refers to adolescents who have metabolic syndrome, a combination of three or more conditions such as abnormal blood lipids, high glucose, high blood pressure and being overweight or obese. Almost two-third of the adolescents with metabolic syndrome were overweight.
Childhood risk factors such as obesity can lead to heart disease and other medical conditions, including diabetes, in adulthood, Robert Eckel, an endocrinologist at the University of Colorado Health Science Center and president-elect of the American Heart Association, said in an interview.
``The majority view among scientists is that obesity precedes or drives the other risk factors that can lead to heart disease or diabetes,'' Eckel said. ``Obesity among adolescents in the U.S. has about tripled since 1960, with most of that increase occurring in the last 10 years.''
Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S., claiming 927,400 lives in 2002, according to the Heart Association. About 700,000 Americans are expected to have a heart attack this year.
About 4 million children ages 6 through 11 and 5.3 million teenagers ages 12 through 19 were overweight or obese in 2002, the report said. In addition, more than 10 percent of preschool children between the ages of two and five were overweight in 2002, compared with 7 percent in 1994.
``To halt this trend involves a whole complex of interactions, including the family, the school system and the food industry,'' Eckel said. ``I don't see it changing in the near future.''
Metabolic syndrome among teenagers increases the risk for Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes. About 14 million adults in the U.S. had diagnosed diabetes in 2002 and as many as 6 million more people may have undiagnosed diabetes, the report said.
The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among adults has risen by 61 percent since 1990, the Heart Association said. Prevalence of obesity among American adults has increased 75 percent since 1991, according to the report.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Glenn Holdcraft at gholdcraft@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 30, 2004 16:04 EST
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