Researchers dig to unearth connections between childhood and adult health

Researchers dig to unearth connections between childhood and adult health

Adults who undertook a series of health checks at particular Australian schools 30 years ago are being sought for retesting on similar health measures today in a landmark study examining the significance of childhood lifestyle in adult health.

Adults who undertook a series of health checks at particular Australian schools 30 years ago are being sought for retesting on similar health measures today in a landmark study examining the significance of childhood lifestyle in adult health.

The study, at the University of Tasmania's Menzies Institute for Medical Research, is called the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health (CDAH) and has as its foundation data collected in 1985 as part of the Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey.

The CDAH study is part of the international i3C Consortium, an international collaboration initiated by Menzies that pools data from CDAH with similar studies in Finland and the US to provide a database of 40,000 children who are being tracked through to middle age.

The Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey took health measures from 8498 children aged between seven and 15 from throughout Australia. The health measures included fitness, height, weight and information about health-related behaviour.

The intention of that survey in 1985 was to catch a snapshot of the health and fitness of school-age Australians at that time. But it provided such a rich source of information on childhood health that in 2000 Menzies' epidemiologist Professor Alison Venn and then Menzies director Professor Terry Dwyer decided to try to track down as many survey participants as possible with a view to checking their adult health, mainly in the area of cardiovascular health.

"The classic cardiovascular risk factors are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity," Professor Venn, who is the Menzies Deputy Director, said.

"If you are really interested in when the risk of cardiovascular disease kicks in, and whether it really matters that you've got these risk factors already in childhood, you have to have studies with thousands of children with those measures. Hardly any other studies around the world do.''

Researchers tracked down several thousand of the original participants and the CDAH study was born. Health checks of participants were done in 2004-6 and participants were surveyed by questionnaire in 2009-10. 

Researchers conducted 30-year follow-up clinics in Tasmania in October and in the coming weeks will be doing the same at one site in Victoria. Twenty-nine Victorian schools - metropolitan and country, primary and secondary, State, Catholic and Independent - participated in the original survey. A roll-out of the 30-year follow-up around the rest of Australia will depend on funding being secured.

Professor Venn says the data collected in 1985 and since has much to tell us about the associations of childhood health and adult heart disease, blood vessel health, diabetes risk and depression.

"We have published some important findings in 60 journal papers so far, and we are now very excited to be embarking on a third stage that will tell us more about the impact of our  childhood lifestyle on our adult health," she said.

The Tasmanian and Victorian clinics are being run with the support of Blundstone, Siemens and donations from Menzies' supporters.

If you were aged between seven and 15 in 1985 and have been contacted by the Menzies CDAH study team in the past, your further participation would be greatly appreciated. To inquire about participating in the study call 1800 634 124 or contact cdah@menzies.utas.edu.au.

Media: For more information and to interview Professor Venn or study participants:

Miranda Harman

Marketing and Communications Manager

Menzies Institute for Medical Research

University of Tasmania

Phone: 61 3 6226-7751

61 427 199 562

Email:  miranda.harman@utas.edu.au

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