Abstract MP53: The Impact of the Obesity Epidemic on Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Scores: The CARDIA Study

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality has decreased over recent decades, in part, due to changes in the prevalence of risk factors. However, few studies have explored the impact of the obesity epidemic on CVD risk prediction in young adults. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis that BMI trends are positively associated with changes in 10-year AHA/ACC atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk scores from young adulthood to middle age beyond the effect of other CVD risk factors included in the scores (age, sex, race, lipids, blood pressure, hypertension medication, diabetes, smoking). METHODS: Data were obtained from 2437 black and white men and women aged 18-30 years at baseline (1985-1986) enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study with follow-up exams at year 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 (ages 43-55 years). Repeated-measures regression was used to model the association between ASCVD risk scores and time-varying BMI measures. RESULTS: The average ...