Major advances in research into stroke risk factors
Stroke prevention is one of the major reserach fields at VASCage. Large epidemiological clinical studies are the most important means to identifying risk factors. Recent VASCage publications in renowned journals such as „Lancet“ and „PLOS ONE“ provide important findings for a better prevention of stroke starting with the youth.
Obesity is one of the major risk factors for stroke. Now VASCage contributed to a worldwide study that revealed an alarming trend: The total number of children, adolescents and adults living with obesity has surpassed one billion. The global analyis was published in The Lancet.
Link to Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02750-2/fulltext
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver diseases in children in the developed world. It is defined as fat accumulation in the liver in the absence of excessive alcohol consumption and an impotant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Now VASCage researchers Johannes Nairz, Ursula Kiechl-Kohlendorfer and others assessed the impact of maternal, neonatal, and adolescent factors on the development of NAFLD in a cohort of 14- to 19-year-old adolescents. They find that components of the metabolic syndrome were the most important predictors of adolescent liver fat content. Therefore, prevention of NAFLD should focus on lifestyle modification in childhood and adolescence.
Link to PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0298800
Another important VASCage publication in the European Journal of Pediatrics sheds light on body mass index (BMI) as a risk factor in the youth. BMI is widely used to identify adiposity. However it is not increased body weight that is crucial but excessive body fat. Therefore VASCage researcher Alex Messner and others in the VASCage EVA4YOU clinical trial group compared body mass index and fat mass index to classify body composition in adolescents. They developed the first age- and sex-specific reference values in Austria.
Link to European Journal Pediatrics: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00431-024-05474-x
