- Researchers are reporting that stress early in life can contribute to cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood.
- They say that’s because high levels of stress hormones may contribute to heart disease.
- Experts say there are a number of ways parents can help children understand and deal with stress.
Stress in adolescence and early adulthood may contribute to the development of cardiometabolic diseases later in life, according to a
To reach their findings, researchers looked at the health information of 276 participants from the Southern California Children’s Health Study from 2003 to 2014 and a follow-up assessment from 2018 to 2021.
The stress participants felt was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale, with questions about thoughts and feelings during the previous month. Assessments were done in three life stages: childhood (average age of 6 years), adolescence (average age of 13 years), and young adulthood (average age of 24 years).
In early childhood, parents provided information on their child’s stress levels. During adolescence and adulthood, the responses were self-reported.
The researchers categorized participants into four groups:
- Consistently high stress
- Decreasing stress
- Increasing stress
- Consistently low stress
The scientists used six different markers to determine a cardiometabolic risk score in young adulthood:
Participants received one point for markers above the normal range. The scientists did not use BMI in calculating the risk score as the body fat percentage and the android/gynoid ratio provided a comprehensive assessment.
End scores ranged from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating higher cardiometabolic risk factors.
The researchers found that adults with high perceived stress, particularly those who indicated high stress levels beginning in adolescence, might be more likely to develop cardiometabolic risk factors as young adults. For example, higher perceived stress is associated…
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