Racial differences of early vascular aging in children and adolescents.
Ruan KrugerLebo Francina Gafane-MatemaneJuliana KaguraPublished in: Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) (2020)
The prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCDs) is rising globally, with a large burden recorded in sub-Saharan countries and populations of black race/ethnicity. Accelerated vascular deterioration, otherwise known as early vascular aging (EVA), is the underlying factor for highly prevalent NCDs such as hypertension. The etiology of EVA is multifactorial with a central component being arterial stiffness with subsequent development of hypertension and cardiovascular complications. Although arterial stiffness develops with increasing age, many children and adolescents are subjected to the premature development of arterial stiffness, due to genetic or epigenetic predispositions, lifestyle and behavioral risk factors, and early life programming. Race/ethnic differences in pediatric populations have also been reported with higher aortic stiffness in black (African American) compared with age-matched white (European American) counterparts independent of blood pressure, body mass index, or socioeconomic status. With known evidence of race/ethnic differences in EVA, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying graded differences in the programming of EVA are still sparse and rarely explored. This educational review aims to address the early life determinants of EVA in children and adolescents with a particular focus on racial or ethnic differences.
Keyphrases
- blood pressure
- early life
- risk factors
- african american
- body mass index
- hypertensive patients
- heart rate
- gene expression
- physical activity
- dna methylation
- cardiovascular disease
- genome wide
- young adults
- weight loss
- pulmonary artery
- skeletal muscle
- aortic valve
- pulmonary hypertension
- left ventricular
- arterial hypertension
- glycemic control