Childhood cardiovascular risk factors and carotid vascular changes in adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart Study.

To examine the association between carotid IMT in young adults and traditional cardiovascular risk factors measured since childhood. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cohort study of 486 adults aged 25 to 37 years from a semirural black and white community in Bogalusa, La (71% white, 39% men), who had at least 3 measurements of traditional risk factors since childhood, conducted between September 1973 and December 1996. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Association of carotid IMT with risk factors, including systolic blood pressure, lipoprotein levels, and body mass index.

Male vs female (0.757 mm vs 0.719 mm) and black vs white (0.760 mm vs 0.723 mm) participants had increased carotid IMT (P