The journey from teenage years to adulthood can be stressful, and a recent study has shown that this stress can lead to serious health problems.
Researchers have discovered that young adults who felt more stressed as teenagers are more likely to have health issues like high blood pressure and obesity compared to those who were less stressed.
This research was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, shedding light on how our teenage experiences can affect our health later on.
The health problems linked to stress are known as cardiometabolic risk factors. They include things like being overweight, having high blood sugar or diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
These factors are often seen together and can lead to heart diseases, which are a major health concern.
Dr. Fangqi Guo, a researcher at the University of Southern California, explains the importance of understanding stress from a young age.
Managing stress during adolescence could help in preventing or reducing these health risks in young adults. Dr. Guo’s findings suggest that how we perceive and handle stress can influence various health aspects, including our weight, heart health, and overall body fat.
In 2020, diseases related to these risk factors, like heart diseases and diabetes, were very common in the U.S. They were responsible for nearly a quarter of all deaths.
Recognizing the link between these diseases and factors like kidney disease and obesity, the American Heart Association in 2023 proposed a new way of looking at and managing heart disease risks.
The American Heart Association has previously highlighted how hardships in childhood can impact heart health throughout life. Early interventions that address these adversities might be more effective than later efforts.
Recent studies have shown that the stress we feel and how we view it can significantly affect our risk of developing heart and metabolic diseases.
For this study, the researchers looked at data from the Southern California Children’s Health Study. Participants joined the study as kids with their parents and were followed up as teenagers (around 13 years old) and then as young adults (around 24 years old).
During each stage, their stress levels were measured using a questionnaire that asked about their feelings and thoughts over the past month.
The participants were grouped based on their stress levels over time: consistently high, decreasing, increasing, or consistently low.
The team then looked at various health factors in these young adults, like artery thickness in the neck, blood pressure, body weight and fat, and blood sugar levels over time.
The results were clear: those who consistently experienced high stress from their teenage years into adulthood had a greater risk of developing heart and metabolic diseases.
They generally had poorer heart health, more body fat, especially around the belly, and a higher risk of obesity compared to those who felt less stressed.
Dr. Guo noted that they didn’t expect to find such a clear link between stress and these various health risks.
He suggests that healthcare professionals should use the stress questionnaire in their practices. This way, they can identify individuals with high stress levels early and offer them help sooner.
The study reviewed data from 276 people from Southern California, with a diverse group of participants. They were part of the study from their childhood (starting around 2003) into their adult years (up to 2021).
However, the study had a limitation due to its relatively small size. Larger studies in the future could provide more detailed insights.
Understanding the impact of long-term stress on young adults is crucial. This research not only highlights the importance of managing stress from a young age but also opens doors for healthcare professionals to intervene early and help reduce the risk of serious health problems later in life.
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The research findings can be found in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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