Cardiovascular health is essential for longevity and limited morbidity with increasing age. However, exposure to several risk factors from as early as preconception (genetic or epigenetic predispositions, lifestyle and behavioral risk factors, and early life programming) may probe accelerated vascular deterioration, also known as early vascular aging (EVA). Divergent cardiovascular complications may develop as a result of EVA starting as early as childhood. The central hallmark of EVA is arterial stiffness, although several other markers have been proposed to identify individuals at increasing risk of accelerated biological aging. With several current definitions of EVA and various techniques to determine arterial stiffness, along with the lack of clear globally accepted criteria of EVA in children and adolescents, this Research Topic will address the urgent need for more scientific evidence to refine the current concepts of EVA within the scope of pediatrics.
With the current escalating burden of cardiovascular disease, especially in children and adolescents, this Research Topic will collate available information and provide insights into (1) the determinants or risk factors of micro- and macrovascular compromise in children and adolescents, (2) diagnostics, novel techniques and therapeutic interventions of EVA, (3) clinical complications associated with EVA, and (4) primary prevention strategies aimed at reducing the risk of EVA in children and adolescents.
This Research Topic welcomes the following article types to advance research on the topic of early vascular aging: Original Research Articles, Reviews, Brief Research Reports, Case Reports, Conceptual Analysis, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, and Opinion Articles.
All submissions should comply to the following broad themes:
- Determinants or risk factors (sex, race, sedentary behavior, nutrition or diet, substance abuse or childhood adversity) of micro- (including retinal, reno- or neurovascular measures) and macrovascular (large artery stiffness, carotid intima media thickness, blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction and pulse wave reflection) function in children and adolescents
- Clinical diagnostics, novel research and clinical techniques or therapeutic or lifestyle interventions of EVA
