Atherosclerotic changes can be measured as changes in common carotid intima media thickness (CIMT). It is hypothesised that repeated infection-associated inflammatory responses in childhood contribute to the atherosclerotic process. We set out to determine whether the frequency of infectious diseases in childhood is associated with CIMT in adolescence. The study is part of the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) population-based birth cohort. At age 16 years, common CIMT was measured. We collected general practitioner (GP) diagnosed infections and prescribed antibiotics. Parent-reported infections were retrieved from annual questionnaires. Linear regression analysis assessed the association between number of infections during the first 4 years of life and common CIMT. Common CIMT measurement, GP and questionnaire data were available for 221 participants. No association was observed between the infection measures and CIMT. In a subgroup analysis, significant positive associations with CIMT were observed in participants with low parental education for 2–3 or ⩾7 GP diagnosed infections (+26.4 µm, 95% CI 0.4–52.4 and +26.8 µm, 95% CI 3.6–49.9, respectively) and ⩾3 antibiotic prescriptions (+35.5 µm, 95%CI 15.8–55.3). Overall, early childhood infections were not associated with common CIMT in adolescence. However, a higher number of childhood infections might contribute to the inflammatory process of atherosclerosis in subgroups with low education, this needs to be confirmed in future studies.

Pregnancy and birth cohorts have been utilised extensively to investigate the developmental origins of health and disease, particularly in relation to understanding the aetiology of obesity and related cardiometabolic disorders. Birth and pregnancy cohorts have been utilised extensively to investigate this area of research. The aim of the present review was twofold: first to outline the necessity of measuring cardiometabolic risk in children; and second to outline how it can be assessed. The major outcomes thought to have an important developmental component are CVD, insulin resistance and related metabolic outcomes. Conditions such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and CHD all tend to have peak prevalence in middle-aged and older individuals but assessments of cardiometabolic risk in childhood and adolescence are important to define early causal factors and characterise preventive measures. Typically, researchers investigating prospective cohort studies have relied on the thesis that cardiovascular risk factors, such as dyslipidaemia, hypertension and obesity, track from childhood into adult life. The present review summarises some of the evidence that these factors, when measured in childhood, may be of value in assessing the risk of adult cardiometabolic disease, and as such proceeds to describe some of the methods for assessing cardiometabolic risk in children.

Polymorphisms of the ABCG5 and ABCG8 genes interfere with cholesterol absorption and synthesis. We determined whether common polymorphisms of these genes regulate the responses of serum cholesterol and vascular function during long-term inhibition of cholesterol absorption. Mildly to moderately hypercholesterolaemic subjects (n 282) completed a 1-year study consuming plant stanol or sterol ester (2 g stanol or sterol) or control spread. Serum cholesterol and non-cholesterol sterols, markers of cholesterol absorption and synthesis, and variables of vascular function and structure were analysed in relation to common polymorphisms of ABCG5 and ABCG8. At baseline, subjects with the 54K allele of ABCG8 had higher brachial endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilatation than those without it (5·79 (se 0·31) v. 4·46 (se 0·44) %; P = 0·049), and subjects with the 632V allele of ABCG8 had larger brachial artery diameter than those without it. Polymorphisms of ABCG5 and ABCG8 were neither associated with serum cholesterol reduction nor changes in cholesterol metabolism or in vascular function. However, in subjects with the 400K allele of ABCG8, intima media thickness (IMT) was increased in all groups more than in those without it (P < 0·05). In conclusion, serum cholesterol lowering with absorption inhibition was not associated with polymorphic sites of ABCG5 and ABCG8. However, regulation of baseline cholesterol metabolism and vascular function and structure, and IMT progression during 1 year seemed to share some of the common polymorphic sites of these genes, suggesting a gene-regulated interaction between cholesterol metabolism and vascular function and structure.