Recognising risk factors in paediatric population for cardiovascular disease development in adulthood

Bolesti srca i krvnih žila glavni su uzrok smrti u Hrvatskoj. Jedan od čimbenika rizika za nastanak kardiovaskularnih bolesti je abdominalna pretilost. U novije vrijeme kao pouzdanija metoda za utvrđivanje te pretilosti primjenjuje se omjer opsega struka i visine, tzv. WHtR kriterij. Prema dosadašnjim istraživanjima problem debljine počinje već od pete godine života. Radovi koji su obuhvaćali i ovu dobnu skupinu primijenili su vrijednosti WHtR ≥ 0,5 kao povišenu za sve dobne skupine i oba spola. No najnovija istraživanja ograničena su na djecu od 6. do 18. godine i definiraju WHtR graničnu vrijednost za djevojčice ≥ 0,459, a za dječake ≥ 0,473. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi u kojoj su mjeri kod djece prisutni čimbenici rizika, prepoznaju li ih njihovi roditelji te jesu li svjesni potrebe razvijanja zdravih životnih navika radi prevencije kardiovaskularnih bolesti u odrasloj dobi. Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno 1418-ero djece, 730 dječaka i 688 djevojčica u dobi od 5 do 15 godina, koji se nalaze u pedijatrijskoj skrbi triju ordinacija Doma zdravlja Zagreb zapad. Prema WHtR kriteriju ≥ 0,5, 7,3% dječaka i 8,8% djevojčica ima povećan zdravstveni rizik za kardiovaskularne bolesti. No prema najnovijim WHtR kriterijima takvih je 25,1% djevojčica i 21,4% dječaka. Čak 79,6% roditelja ne prepoznaje čimbenike rizika za pojavu kardiovaskularnih bolesti kod vlastite djece. Rezultati našeg istraživanja slični su rezultatima drugih istraživanja te pokazuju kako većina roditelja nije svjesna problema pretilosti, pa samim time ni potrebe za odgovarajućom promjenom životnih navika vlastite djece. Iz svega ovoga zaključujemo da bi bilo nužno poduzeti dodatne edukacijske mjere kako u ordinacijama primarne pedijatrijske skrbi tako i u odgojno-obrazovnim ustanovama, radi pravodobne i učinkovite intervencije koja bi očekivano pridonijela smanjenju pobola i smrtnosti u odrasloj dobi.Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Croatia. One of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease development isabdominal obesity. More recently, the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) has been used as a more reliable method for determining this typeof obesity. According to the research so far, the problem of obesity begins from the age of five. Studies that also included this age groupused WHtR values ≥0.5 as elevated for all age groups and both genders. However, recent research is limited to children aged 6 to 18years and defines a limit of WHtR index ≥0.459 for girls and ≥0.473 for boys. This study aimed to determine the extent to which riskfactors are present in children, whether their parents recognize them, and whether they are aware of the need to develop healthierlifestyle habits to prevent cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Our study included 1418 children, 730 boys and 688 girls, aged 5 to 15years, from three paediatric offices of the Zagreb West Health Centre. According to the WHtR criterion ≥0.5, 7.3% of boys and 8.8% ofgirls were at an increased health risk for cardiovascular disease. However, according to the latest WHtR criteria, 25.1% of girls and21.4% of boys were at increased risk. Furthermore, as many as 79.6% of parents did not recognize the risk factors for cardiovasculardisease in their children. The results of our study are similar to the results of other studies and show that most parents are not aware ofthe problem of obesity and therefore do not see the need for change in their children’s life habits. Accordingly, we conclude that itwould be necessary to take additional educational measures both in primary paediatric care and in educational institutions with theaim of timely and effective intervention that would, as expected, contribute to the reduction of morbidity and mortality in adulthood