Cardiometabolic health
Cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke) and metabolic disease (obesity and type 2 diabetes) are related. Together, they are cardiometabolic disease.
Cardiometabolic diseases are a big challenge in society today. They are a leading cause of death in Australia and worldwide and are increasing rapidly.
Lowering cardiometabolic risk can help prevent more serious health problems from developing.
There are many factors that influence the risk of developing cardiometabolic health problems. But not all cases can be attributed to known risk factors like obesity, smoking, hypertension and insulin resistance.
Importantly, adult-onset cardiometabolic health problems may have their origins in infancy and childhood and risk accumulates throughout life.
Understanding more about factors in childhood that can lead to cardiometabolic problems could open up ways to improve cardiometabolic health for children and the adults they become.
Who does this affect?
Who does this affect?
- Cardiometabolic diseases account for more than twice the number of deaths caused by cancer
- Childhood obesity increases the risk of cardiometabolic disease later in life
- Children whose parents are both obese are 80 per cent more likely to be obese themselves
- Even before birth, a child’s health is impacted by factors like their birth mother’s weight and environment
Our cardiometabolic health research
Our cardiometabolic health research
Our cardiometabolic health research aims to enable researchers to harness the power of population data to influence policies, programs and public opinion. Through this we’re showing that a healthy adulthood begins in childhood and even before birth.
Our LifeCourse research program provides a platform that equips researchers with the tools, collaborations and access to produce more meaningful and robust research. This unique platform champions collaborations between rich longitudinal datasets across MCRI and our Melbourne Children’s campus partners – The Royal Children’s Hospital and the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, underpinned by The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
We need more preventative measures, education and solutions to ensure better heart health for this generation and the next.
Impacts of our research
Impacts of our research
- We co-lead one of the few cohorts that have cardiovascular measures on children from birth to adulthood. This allows our researchers to understand the earliest signs of cardiometabolic problems and identify what helps and hinders good cardiometabolic health.
- We also have two intergenerational cohorts, meaning study participants and their children. This allows us to explore generational patterns of obesity and cardiometabolic disease, and learn about factors that could disrupt these patterns, regardless of any genetic predisposition
- In a first-of-its-kind study, we examined the link between Australian primary school students’ experiences of racial discrimination and a range of cardiometabolic risk markers, including obesity, blood pressure and inflammation (collaboration with ANU
- Our findings from our population studies are helping us understand the underlying biology and develop and trial early life prevention
Our vision
Our vision
We are working to support every child to develop good cardiovascular and metabolic health, to optimize their health as adults. Prevention is always better and earlier prevention is better still.
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