Family history of cardiovascular disease and parental lifestyle behaviors are associated with offspring cardiovascular disease risk markers in childhood

Assessing Life's Essential 8 and Adverse Childhood Experiences in Grandparent-Grandchild Co-residing Dyads

We assessed a subset of behavioral indicators from the American Heart Association Life's Essential 8 cardiovascular health (CVH) construct-diet, physical activity, sleep, and nicotine exposure-and quantified associations in scores between members of 12 grandparent-grandchild dyads (grandparents, 52-70 years old; children, 7-12 years old). We also assessed the number of adverse childhood experiences from the dyads. Using the Life's Essential 8 scoring algorithm (0-100, with 100 as optimal), we calculated averages and used Spearman's ρ correlation to quantify associations. Mean score was 67.5 (±12.4) for grandparents and 63.0 (±11.2) for grandchildren. Mean scores for the dyad members were significantly correlated ( r = 0.66, P < .05). The mean numbers of adverse childhood experiences were 7.0 and 5.8 for the grandparents and grandchildren, respectively. The results indicate that CVH in these dyads was suboptimal and interrelated. Adverse childhood experiences in this analysis surpass levels reported as high risk for poor CVH. Our findings suggest that dyadic-based interventions to improve CVH are warranted.

Paternal programming of fetoplacental and offspring metabolic disorders

The alarming increase in the prevalence of metabolic pathologies is of worldwide concern and has been linked not only to genetic factors but also to a large number of non-genetic factors. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the study of the programming of metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, by paternal exposure, a paradigm termed "Paternal Origins of Health and Disease" (POHaD). This term derives from the better known "Developmental Origins of Health and Disease" (DOHaD), which focuses on the involvement of the maternal intrauterine environment and complications during pregnancy associated with the health and disease of the offspring. Studies on paternal programming have documented environmentally induced epigenetic modifications in the male germline and in seminal plasma, which lead to intergenerational and transgenerational phenotypes, evident already during fetoplacental development. Studies with animal models at both ends of the nutritional spectrum (undernutrition or overnutrition) have been performed to understand the possible mechanisms and signaling pathways leading to the programming of metabolic disorders by exploring epigenetic changes throughout the life of the offspring. The aim of this review was to address the evidence of the programming of fetoplacental developmental alterations and metabolic pathologies in the offspring of males with metabolic disorders and unhealthy exposures, highlighting the mechanisms involved in such programming and looking for paternal interventions to reduce negative health outcomes in the offspring.

Characterisation of the Paternal Influence on Intergenerational Offspring Cardiac and Brain Lipid Homeostasis in Mice

There is growing evidence that poor paternal diet at the time of conception increase the risk of offspring developing a range of non-communicable metabolic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, in adulthood. We hypothesise that a paternal low protein-high carbohydrate diet perturbs offspring tissue lipid abundance through both sperm and seminal plasma-mediated mechanisms. To test our hypothesis, we fed male C57BL/6 mice either a control normal protein diet (NPD; 18% protein) or an isocaloric low protein diet (LPD; 9% protein) for a minimum of 8 weeks. We generated offspring through artificial insemination, in combination with vasectomised male mating. Using this approach, we derived offspring from either NPD or LPD sperm but in the presence of NPD or LPD seminal plasma. Using high resolution mass-spectrometry, we found that offspring derived from either LPD sperm or seminal fluid displayed perturbed cardiac and brain lipid abundance from just three weeks of age, typically associated with the altered abundance of tissue triglycerides. We also observed the differential sex-specific patterns of lipids between the control and experimental offspring's hearts and brains. These observations indicate that poor paternal diet at the time of conception affects offspring cardiac and brain lipid profiles in an age-, sex- and generation-specific manner.

Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Young Adults through the Nursing Diagnosis: A Cross-Sectional Study among International University Students

Four out of five deaths from cardiovascular disease are due to heart attacks and strokes in low- and middle-income countries. Early identification of risk factors in exposed individuals will help to develop interventions that may eliminate and/or reduce these risks and prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases. So, it is necessary to investigate the risk of impaired cardiovascular function in university students due to the increase in some risk factors and cardiovascular events in young adults, and to describe its epidemiology among international university students. For this, an observational cross-sectional study through interviews is designed. The clinical validity was addressed following the Fehring model. In addition, anthropometric data and results of laboratory tests were collected. The nursing diagnosis “Risk of impaired cardiovascular function” showed clinical validity, high sensitivity and specificity, as well as predictive values. Fehring ratio values were above 0.79 and Kappa Index above 0.72. The study showed a high frequency of this nursing diagnosis among university students, especially in students of Brazilian nationality. The main risks of impaired cardiovascular function found in 86.8% of students were: family history of cardiovascular disease, sedentary lifestyle, pharmacological agent, dyslipidemia, and insufficient knowledge. The most prevalent risk factors of the nursing diagnosis in the studied population were related to insufficient knowledge of modifiable health habits, such as sedentary lifestyle. The information provided is expected to serve as the basis for the planning and implementation of health actions aimed at reducing modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Paternal metabolic and cardiovascular programming of their offspring: A systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND

There is lots of evidence that maternal peri-gestational metabolic, genomic and environmental conditions are closely linked to metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes in their offspring later in life. Moreover, there is also lotsof evidence that underlining mechanisms, such as molecular as well as epigenetic changes may alter the intrauterine environment leading to cardio-metabolic diseases in their offspring postnatal. But, there is also increasing evidence that cardio-metabolic diseases may be closely linked to their paternal metabolic risk factors, such as obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and other risk factors.

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the evidence as well as specific risk factors of paternal trans-generational programming of cardio-metabolic diseases in their offspring.

METHODS

Within a systematic scoping review, we performed a literature search in MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE databases in August 2020 considering original research articles (2000-2020) that examined the impact of paternal programming on metabolic and cardiovascular offspring health. Epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies as well as human and animal model studies were included.

RESULTS

From n = 3.199 citations, n = 66 eligible studies were included. We selected n = 45 epidemiological as well as clinical studies and n = 21 experimental studies. In brief, pre-conceptional paternal risk factors, such as obesity, own birth weight, high-fat and low-protein diet, undernutrition, diabetes mellitus, hyperglycaemia, advanced age, smoking as well as environmental chemical exposure affect clearly metabolic and cardiovascular health of their offspring later in life.

CONCLUSIONS

There is emerging evidence that paternal risk factors, such as paternal obesity, diabetes mellitus, nutritional habits, advanced age and exposure to environmental chemicals or cigarette smoke, are clearly associated with adverse effects in metabolic and cardiovascular health in their offspring. Compared to maternal programming, pre-conceptional paternal factors might also have also a substantial effect in the sense of trans-generational programming of their offspring and need further research.