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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #179748
Title: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MATERNAL AND CHILD CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS: ETHNIC DIFFERENCES AND LACK OF INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

Author
item JAGO, RUSSELL - BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MED
item BARANOWSKI, THOMAS
item WATSON, KATHY - BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MED
item Baranowski, Janice
item NICKLAS, THERESA
item ZAKERI, ISSA

Submitted to: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2004
Publication Date: 12/1/2004
Citation: Jago, R., Baranowski, T., Watson, K., Baranowski, J., Nicklas, T., Zakeri, I. 2004. Relationships between maternal and child cardiovascular risk factors: ethnic differences and lack of influence of physical activity. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 158(12):1125-1131.

Interpretive Summary: In this study we examine the cardiovascular risk factors of a tri-ethnic sample of 133 6- to 7-year-old children and their mothers, differences by ethnicity and associations with physical activity. We found that mother and child risk factors were associated but the association differed by ethnicity. BMI and waist circumference were associated among Hispanic children and their mothers but not other ethnic groups. Insulin, HDL-C and LDL-C were associated among African-American mothers and their children but not other ethnic groups. Maternal and child physical activity were not significantly associated with any risk factor or each other. The results of this study suggest that cardiovascular risk reduction strategies should be tailored to specific ethnic groups.

Technical Abstract: The objectives of the study were to obtain information about the relationship between cardiovascular and diabetic risk factors of mothers and their children and to determine whether these relationships differ by physical activity or ethnicity. Prospective study. The Texas site of the Studies of Child Activity and Nutrition Program. A 1986 to 1989 triethnic sample (European American, African American, and Hispanic) of 133 mothers and their 6- to 7-year-old children. Maternal and child fasting insulin levels; total, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels; triglyceride levels; waist circumference; systolic and diastolic blood pressures; height; weight; and body mass index. Maternal physical activity was assessed by means of a 7-day recall. Child physical activity was assessed by heart rate monitoring. Correlational methods were used to describe the relationships among metabolic risk factors and physical activity; chi2 tests of independence were used to examine the relationships between ethnic groups. Results showed that the body mass index and waist circumference were significantly (P<.05) associated among Hispanic mothers and their children, but not in other ethnic groups. Insulin, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein levels were significantly associated among African American mothers and their children, but not in other ethnic groups. Maternal and child physical activity were not significantly associated with any of the risk variables or each other. In conclusion, the relationships between the risk factors of mothers and children differed by ethnicity, but not by physical activity.