Oral Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2026

Child and maternal predictors of cardiovascular profiles among children from two cohorts: findings from The Barwon Infant Study and the European Youth Heart Study (144173)

Saeed Ghobadi 1 , Kylie D Hesketh 1 , Gavin Abbott 1 , Berit Lilienthal Heitmann 2 3 4 5 , David Burgner 6 7 8 , Toby Mansell 6 7 , Niels Wedderkopp 9 , Miaobing Zheng 10
  1. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
  2. The Department of Public Health, Section for General Practice, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
  3. Research Unit for Diet and Health, The Parker Institute, Frederiksberg and Bispebjerg Hospital, The Capital region, Denmark
  4. The Boden Initiative, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  5. The Faculty of Medicine, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  6. Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  7. Department of Paediatrics, the University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  8. Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
  9. Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
  10. School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Background:

Cardiovascular disease risks originate early in life, but early-life predictors remain unclear. This study aimed to examine associations between child and maternal factors and cardiovascular profiles in two paediatric cohorts.

Methods:

This secondary analysis used data from children participating in the Barwon Infant Study (BIS; n=606; mean age 4.1 years) and the European Youth Heart Study (EYHS; n=413; mean age 9.8 years). Child (age, sex, birth weight, and number of siblings) and maternal (body mass index (BMI), education, gestational weight gain, gestational age, and smoking during pregnancy) factors were obtained from questionnaires and medical records. We used latent profile analysis to identify cardiovascular risk profiles based on measures of obesity, vascular function and structure, dyslipidaemia, inflammation, and hyperglycaemia. Multivariable logistic regression analyses examined associations between child and maternal factors and cardiovascular profiles.

Results:

Latent profile analysis was conducted separately in each cohort, identifying three comparable cardiovascular profiles ('Low', 'Medium', and 'High'). Higher maternal BMI was associated with increased relative risk of belonging to the ‘High’ versus ‘Low’ profile in both cohorts (BIS: RRR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02, 1.22, and EYHS: RRR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03, 1.25). In BIS, compared with children with one sibling, those with ≥2 siblings had a lower relative risk of belonging to both the 'Medium' (RRR 0.38, 95% CI 0.18, 0.78) and 'High' (RRR 0.37, 95% CI 0.14, 0.98) profiles versus the 'Low' cardiovascular profile. Children with no siblings had a lower relative risk of belonging to the 'Medium' versus 'Low' profile (RRR 0.23, 95% CI 0.08, 0.66). No evidence of associations was observed for other child and maternal factors and cardiovascular profiles.

Conclusion:

Higher maternal BMI was associated with more unfavourable cardiovascular profiles in children in both cohorts, while in BIS, children with one sibling were more likely to belong to less favourable cardiovascular profiles than those with no siblings or ≥2 siblings.