Children whose mother has adopted a healthy lifestyle, throughout her life and not just during pregnancy, live nearly a decade longer without cardiovascular disease.
- The offspring of mothers who had a healthy lifestyle lived nine years longer without cardiovascular disease than the others, respectively 27 years versus 18 years.
- The father’s heart health did not have a statistically significant effect on the occurrence of cardiovascular disorders in the child.
- By adopting a healthy lifestyle early in life, children can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease passed on from an unhealthy mother.
The lifestyle of the mother, not only during pregnancy but throughout her life, has a great influence on the health of the child. In a new study, American researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the University of Massachusetts in Boston suggest that mothers who have adopted a healthy lifestyle during their lifetime delay the risk of onset of cardiovascular disease in their child. The results of this study were published on November 4 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiologya journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
A follow-up over 46 years
The health of each individual is influenced by the lifestyle of the mother. “Our study suggests that mothers are the primary guardians of their children’s healthsays Dr. James Muchira, lead author of the study. This maternal influence persists into the adulthood of their offspring..” Previous research has shown that parents pass health on to their offspring, but this new study is the first to examine, for each parent separately, the link between their heart health and the age at which the child will develop cardiovascular disease.
The researchers studied 1,989 children (average age 32) and as many mothers and fathers followed for 46 years, from 1971 to 2017.”Crucially, the study followed the offspring for most of their adult life when heart attacks and strokes occur.”, added Dr. James Muchira. The cardiovascular health of the parents was estimated according to 7 factors: not smoking, healthy diet, physical activity and normal body mass index, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar. The researchers studied the pairs separately: mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter and father-son.
A greater risk for girls
The results showed that offspring of mothers who had a healthy lifestyle lived nine years longer without cardiovascular disease than offspring of mothers with poor cardiovascular health, respectively 27 years versus 18 years. The poor cardiovascular health of the mother doubles the risk of early cardiovascular problems for the child. Furthermore, the father’s heart health did not have a statistically significant effect on the occurrence of cardiovascular disorders in the child. “If mothers suffer from diabetes or hypertension during pregnancy, these risk factors imprint themselves on their children at a very young age. In addition, women are often the primary caregivers and role models”, advances Dr. Muchira.
Breaking the intergenerational cycle
It is possible to limit the bad effects of the mother’s unhealthy lifestyle. “Family interventions should take place during pregnancy and very early in the child’s life, so that the real impact of protective cardiovascular health carries over into adulthood.explains Dr. Muchira. For example, pairing mothers and young children in an exercise or diet improvement program. If children become healthy adults, they will not acquire the same cardiovascular risk as their parents, a situation which will increase the chances of having even healthier grandchildren..”
The results showed that the situation is often more serious for sons than for daughters. “This is because sons have more unfavorable lifestyle habits than daughters, which makes matters even worse.says the researcher. This shows that individuals can take charge of their own health. People who inherit a high risk from their mother can reduce that risk by exercising and eating well. If they don’t, the risk will be multiplied.”
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