Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Adolescence and young adulthood are critical periods for disease prevention. Indicators of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) already show predictive variability in adolescence and the early identification and implementation of healthcare strategies can have significant long-term health benefits. CMR refers to a set of indicators that increase an individual's risk for diabetes, heart disease, or stroke (i.e., body mass index [BMI], systolic and diastolic blood pressure [BP], and waist circumference). Much of what we know about CMR comes from studies with adults and research focusing on younger age groups is needed. For the proposed research, data from the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey (V-HYS) will be used to describe the number of young adults (ages 22 to 29) exceeding established cut-offs for non-invasive CMR indicators. In addition, psychosocial factors may contribute to these risks and may also contribute to the effectiveness of prevention programs beyond individual-level health behaviours such as diet and exercise. However, these are rarely studied. Thus, how stress (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms and interpersonal problems) effect CMR across the transition to young adulthood will be examined. To add, gender differences will be investigated. The V-HYS is a six-wave, 10-year longitudinal study that surveyed youth (Time 1 N = 662; ages 12 to 18) biannually from 2003 to 2014. In-person measurements of CMR (BMI, systolic and diastolic BP, waist circumference) were collected in wave 6. Measurements of internalizing symptoms and interpersonal stress were collected at each wave. Findings will provide important information about the health of Canadian youth as well as identify new targets for the prevention of CMR. The results will also inform guidelines for early identification and preventative healthcare.