(P17-047-25) US Adolescents’ Cardiovascular Health As Measured by Select Life’s Essential 8 Metrics, NHANES 2011–2018

Objectives: To evaluate cardiovascular health according to select Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) metrics in a national sample of participants aged 13 to 19y.

Methods: This analysis included a total of 4,374 US adolescents aged 13 to 19y who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011-2018. Given limited data availability among adolescents in the NHANES, the LE8 health factors examined in this analysis included BMI, non-HDL cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and blood pressure (BP). We scored each health factor according to the LE8 criteria and estimated means scores by gender, race, and age group (13-15y and 16-19y). All analyses accounted for the complex, multi-stage survey sampling design and comparisons were assessed using independent samples t-tests.

Results: In this representative sample, 49.3% were female, 53.4% non-Hispanic white, and 55.5% aged 16-19 y. Mean [SE] for the available factors were BMI = 74.3 [35.0], FPG = 87.4 [9.3], non-HDL cholesterol = 71.9 [35.0], and BP = 94.7 [3.7]. Males reported significantly lower scores for FPG (84.0 [1.0] vs. 91.7 [0.7], < .001) and BP (92.8 [0.5] vs. 97.6 [0.2], < .001). Those 16-19y reported significantly lower scores for non-HDL cholesterol (74.5 [0.9] vs. 69.6 [0.9], < .001) and BP (97.3 [0.2] vs. 93.5 [0.4], < .001). Non-Hispanic Asians reported better BMI scores (83.4 [1.4]) compared to Hispanics (71.6 [1.2], < .001), non-Hispanic blacks (71.5 [1.5], < .001) and non-Hispanic whites (77.4 [1.1], p < .001). Among non-Hispanic blacks, mean non-HDL cholesterol, (74.9 [1.1]) was higher compared to Hispanics (71.8 [1.1], p =0.017) and non-Hispanic Asians (68.4 [2.0], p = 0.008). Lastly, non-Hispanic blacks reported significantly lower BP scores compared to non-Hispanic whites (92.7 [0.6] vs. 96.1 [0.7], p < .001).

Conclusions: Boys, older children, and those from certain race/ethnic minorities reported lower cardiovascular health scores as measured by the updated LE8. We were unable to assess the extent of cardiovascular health risk because the NHANES does not collect the necessary data to calculate the four remaining metrics in this age group. Thus, it is critical to expand data collection of key metrics to assess and monitor cardiovascular health in children and adolescents.

Funding Sources: None