| Framingham Study Shows Parents Who Live Long
Pass On Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
New evidence suggests that if you could choose your parents, you
could reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers from
the long-standing Framingham Heart Study (FHS), a program of the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National
Institutes of Health, report that people whose parents live longer
were more likely to avoid developing high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease
in middle age than their peers whose parents died younger. They
also found that the risk factor advantages persisted over time.
According to the researchers, this is the first study to examine
cardiovascular risk factors in the offspring of longer-lived individuals
using independent and validated measurements of risk. The findings
are consistent with other studies that have linked lower cardiovascular
risk with parental longevity based on self-reports of family history.
"Characteristics of Framingham Offspring Participants with Long-Lived
Parents,” appears in the March 12 issue of the Archives of
Internal Medicine.
In the study, researchers examined 1,697 offspring age 30 and
older (average age 40) whose parents participated in the original
FHS and had reached age 85 or died before January 1, 2005. They
compared cardiovascular risk factors among the offspring based
on whether both parents, one parent, or neither parent lived to
85 years or older. The risk factors included age, sex, education,
cigarette smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, and body mass index
(BMI). In addition, they compared the offsprings' Framingham Risk
Scores, a summary score based on the combined contribution of traditional
cardiovascular risk factors.
In general, the group in which both parents survived to age 85
had significantly fewer participants with high blood pressure or
who were current smokers, compared to those in which both parents
or one parent had died. In addition, the middle-aged children of
long-lived parents had significantly lower levels of blood pressure
and blood cholesterol, and they had lower Framingham Risk Scores
than those in which one or both parents had died. Overall, parental
longevity did not significantly affect BMI. After 12 years of follow
up, the offspring of longer-lived parents were also less likely
to progress to high blood pressure and to generate higher risk
scores, the researchers report.
NHLBI's Framingham Heart Study has studied the health of many
of the Massachusetts town’s residents since 1948. The community-based
research program has been the source of key research findings regarding
the contributions of hypertension, high cholesterol, cigarette
smoking, and other risk factors to the development of cardiovascular
disease. Now assessing a third generation of participants, Framingham
Heart Study investigators are expanding their research into other
areas such as the role of genetic factors in cardiovascular disease
as well as the use of novel biomarkers and new diagnostic tests
to identify individuals at high risk.
Daniel Levy, M.D., Director of the Framingham Heart Study, and
other FHS investigators are available to comment on the study's
findings as well as how modifiable risk factors can lower cardiovascular
disease risk.
To schedule interviews, contact the NHLBI Communications Office
at 301-496-4236.
Resources:
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports
research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders.
The Institute also administers national health education campaigns
on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other
topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available
online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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