Cardiovascular risk factors, including higher body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, in childhood and adolescence are associated with poorer cognitive function in young adulthood, according to a study published online Jan. 15 in Pediatrics.
Henri Salo, M.D., from the University of Turku in Finland, and colleagues examined the associations between cardiovascular risk factors from infancy to young adulthood and young adulthood cognitive function among participants from the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project. Exposure was examined in early childhood, childhood, early adolescence, and adolescence; at age 26 years, learning and memory, verbal memory, working memory, reaction time, information processing, and cognitive flexibility were measured.
The researchers identified inverse associations for higher childhood and early adolescence BMI and waist circumference with cognitive flexibility (BMI: ? = ?0.240 and ?0.315, respectively; waist circumference: ? = ?0.260 and ?0.257, respectively); there were corresponding associations seen between BMI and information processing (? = ?0.308 and ?0.243, respectively). Inverse associations were seen for higher adolescence and early adolescence low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with verbal memory (? = ?0.268 and ?0.264, respectively).
Inverse associations were also seen for lower childhood and adolescence high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with cognitive flexibility (? = ?0.318 and ?0.260, respectively). An inverse association was seen for higher systolic blood pressure in childhood with cognitive flexibility (? = ?0.316).
“These results suggest that even slightly elevated cardiovascular risk factors might play a role in adulthood cognitive function,” the authors write. “Thus, an even more aggressive approach to cardiovascular risk management in childhood might be meaningful.”
Publication details
Study: Henri Salo et al, Cardiovascular Risk Factors From Early Childhood and Cognitive Function in Young Adulthood, Pediatrics (2026). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2025-071353
Commentary: Junia N. de Brito et al, Early Cardiovascular Health and Cognitive Function in Young Adulthood: New Insights From Childhood, Pediatrics (2026). DOI: 10.1542/peds.2025-073393
Journal information:
Pediatrics
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