Test Can Tell Teens Likely To Suffer Cardiovascular Disease As Adults

'Catch'em Young' is the new age mantra for health scientists to help people lower their future risk of cardiovascular disease. A new test has been developed to accurately determine the risk in teenagers using the severity of the 'M' syndrome.

According to UPI, the test determines the severity of metabolic syndrome, a combined condition of high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, high BMI, excessive body fat and high cholesterol levels, which are known to increase risk of heart disease. The test was developed following research spread over four decades.

Researchers at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital where the test was developed said their test also factors race and gender variabilities when predicting risk.

"The way that we normally diagnose metabolic syndrome appears to have some racial discrepancies where African-American individuals are not diagnosed with metabolic syndrome at a very high rate, and yet they are at very high risk for developing type 2 diabetes and CVD [cardiovascular disease]," Dr. Mark DeBoer said in a press release.

To develop the test, researchers examined severity of various conditions that allude to metabolic syndrome in a study that followed children since 1970s. The subjects were followed up until 2014 where the average age of participants was 49.6 years. The study showed a high correlation between metabolic syndrome severity and cardiovascular disease risk.

Unlike existing tests that simply convey if there is a risk or not, the new test provides an accurate assessment of risk on a scale which researchers believe can help in devising precise lifestyle-modification interventions to lower risk. Over a 600,000 people die every year in the US of heart disease which in most cases is said to have modifiable risk factors.

"We are hopeful that this score can be used to assess the baseline risk for adolescents regarding metabolic syndrome and their risk for future disease and use it as a motivator for individuals to try to change their risk so that they may have a healthier diet, engage in more physical activity or get medication to reduce their metabolic syndrome severity and their future risk for disease," DeBoer said.