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Healthy cholesterol in adolescence may predict good health in adulthood

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Individuals who adopt healthy lifestyle habits early may see improved cholesterol test results later in life, according to a new study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

The findings confirm previous research, which has indicated that individuals who become obese or develop type 2 diabetes during childhood or adolescence are more likely to carry these problems into adulthood.

For the study, researchers from the University of Turku in Finland examined 539 adolescents between the ages 9 and 15 in 1985. At this point, they administered cholesterol tests. More than 20 years later, the researchers followed up with the participants. They found that those with healthier cholesterol levels in adolescence tended to be healthier adults.

"Our findings suggest that beneficial changes in modifiable risk factors (smoking and adiposity) in the time between youth and adulthood have the potential to shift those with high-risk blood lipid and lipoprotein levels in youth to low-risk levels in adulthood," the authors wrote in their report.