Cardiovascular Health Trajectories in Adolescence and Their Association With Sociodemographic and Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Spain.

PURPOSE: To determine cardiovascular health (CVH) trajectories and their association with sociodemographic and cardiometabolic outcomes in adolescence. METHODS: One thousand eighty adolescents attending 24 secondary schools enrolled in the SI! Program for Secondary Schools trial in Spain were assessed at approximately 12, 14, and 16 years of age. CVH was assessed according to American Heart Association criteria based on seven metrics (smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, diet, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and blood glucose), and CVH trajectories were identified by latent class trajectory modeling. Associations between CVH trajectories, sociodemographic characteristics, and cardiometabolic outcomes were analyzed using generalized linear and Poisson models. RESULTS: Five CVH trajectory groups were identified: poor-stable (27 adolescents [2.5%]), intermediate-substantial rise (79 [7.3%]), intermediate-substantial decline (63 [5.8%]), intermediate-mild decline (403 [37.3%]), and intermediate-mild rise (508 [47.1%]). Boys and adolescents from families with low-average income, low-intermediate educational attainment, and a migrant background more frequently belonged to groups with lower baseline CVH and poor or declining trajectories. The intermediate-substantial decline group had the highest prevalence ratio for overweight/obesity (3.84; 95% confidence interval: 2.86-5.16) and metabolic syndrome (4.93; 95% confidence interval: 1.21-20.04) at age 16, whereas prevalence was lowest in the intermediate-mild rise group. DISCUSSION: Adolescent CVH trajectories differ according to socioeconomic characteristics and are associated with cardiometabolic outcomes. Primordial prevention interventions should be implemented early in life, taking into account CVH trajectories and with a particular focus on vulnerable populations.

Urinary Nitric Oxide Levels Are Associated with Blood Pressure, Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Total Polyphenol Excretion in Adolescents from the SI! Program.

Nitric oxide (NO) is important to cardiovascular health (CVH), and its bioavailability could be regulated by the antioxidant effect of polyphenols, improving endothelial function and consequently blood pressure (BP). However, scant research has been carried out on NO and CVH correlates in adolescent populations. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the association between NO and the CVH status and other health factors in adolescents. NO, total polyphenol excretion (TPE), anthropometric measurements, BP, blood lipid profile, blood glucose, diet, physical activity, and smoking status were recorded, while CVH score was classified as ideal, intermediate, and poor. Negative associations were observed between NO and body mass index, body fat percentage, BP, and triglycerides; and positive associations between NO and skeletal muscle percentage, HDL-cholesterol, fruit and vegetable intake, and TPE was observed. To capture more complex interactions among different factors, multiple linear regression was performed, obtaining a significant association between NO and fruit and vegetable intake (ß = 0.175), TPE (ß = 0.225), and systolic BP (ß = -0.235). We conclude that urinary NO levels are positively associated with the consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols and negatively associated with systolic BP.

Total urinary polyphenols and ideal cardiovascular health metrics in Spanish adolescents enrolled in the SI Program: a cross-sectional study.

To study the relationship between urinary total polyphenol excretion (TPE) in adolescents and ideal cardiovascular (CVH) metrics. 1151 adolescents aged 12.04 (0.46) years participating in the SI! Program for Secondary Schools were selected based on the availability of urine samples and information required to assess CVH metrics. Data on health behaviours (smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, and healthy diet) and health factors (blood pressure, total cholesterol, and blood glucose) were used to calculate the CVH metrics. TPE in urine was analysed by a Folin-Ciocalteu method after solid-phase extraction. Associations between TPE (categorized into tertiles) and CVH metrics (total and separate scores) were assessed using multilevel mixed-effect regression models. Higher TPE levels were associated with higher (healthier) CVH scores and ideal smoking status (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.10; 1.87, p value = 0.007), physical activity (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02; 1.23, p value = 0.022) and total cholesterol (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.16; 2.73, p value = 0.009) after multivariate adjustment. An association between TPE and total CVH scores was observed only in boys. Girls with higher TPE had higher rates of ideal total cholesterol and blood pressure. According to our findings, higher urinary TPE is related to better CVH scores, with relevant differences in this association by gender.

Polyphenols in Urine and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Reveals Gender Differences in Spanish Adolescents from the SI! Program.

(1) Background: Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse association between polyphenol intake and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) in adults, but few have provided information about adolescents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between urinary total polyphenol excretion (TPE) and CVRFs in adolescents. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 1194 Spanish adolescents from the SI! (Salud Integral) program. TPE in urine samples was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, after solid-phase extraction, and categorized into quartiles. The association between TPE and CVRFs was estimated using mixed-effect linear regression and a structural equation model (SEM). (3) Results: Linear regression showed negative associations among the highest quartile of TPE and body fat percentage (B = -1.75, p-value = <0.001), triglycerides (TG) (B = -17.68, p-value = <0.001), total cholesterol (TC) (B = -8.66, p-value = 0.002), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (LDL-C) (B = -4.09, p-value = 0.008) in boys, after adjusting for all confounder variables. Negative associations between TPE quartiles and systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and TC were also found in girls. Moreover, a structural equation model revealed that TPE was directly associated with body composition and blood glucose and indirectly associated with blood pressure, TG, LDL-C, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) in boys. (4) Conclusions: Higher concentrations of TPE were associated with a better profile of cardiovascular health, especially in boys, while in girls, the association was not as strong.

Health Effects of Resveratrol: Results from Human Intervention Trials.

The effect of resveratrol (RV) intake has been reviewed in several studies performed in humans with different health status. The purpose of this review is to summarize the results of clinical trials of the last decade, in which RV was determined in biological samples such as human plasma, urine, and feces. The topics covered include RV bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, effects on cardiovascular diseases, cognitive diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes (T2D), oxidative stress, and inflammation states. The overview of the recent research reveals a clear tendency to identify RV in plasma, showing that its supplementation is safe. Furthermore, RV bioavailability depends on several factors such as dose, associated food matrix, or time of ingestion. Notably, enterohepatic recirculation of RV has been observed, and RV is largely excreted in the urine within the first four hours after consumption. Much of the research on RV in the last 10 years has focused on its effects on pathologies related to oxidative stress, inflammatory biomarkers, T2D, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological diseases.