Young people with atherosclerotic lesions may be identified by a risk score calculated from coronary heart disease factors like obesity, sex, age, cholesterol, and smoking, according to an article in the April 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
An article published in 1953 described a high rate of advanced coronary atherosclerosis (thickening and hardening of artery walls from fat deposits) in young Korean War casualties, and fifty years of study has supported the finding of the disease in young Americans, according to background information in the article. "These results from autopsied and living individuals indicate that dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, hyperglycemia, and obesity damage arteries during youth and suggest that long-range prevention of CHD [coronary heart disease] should begin early in life," the authors write.
C. Alex McMahan, Ph.D., from the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and colleagues analyzed data from the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth (PDAY) study to determine whether a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk score can identify young people with advanced atherosclerotic disease. Study patients were people aged 15 through 34 years who died of external causes (accidents, homicides, and suicides).