This project proposes the exploration of an existing data base for a study of the interrelationships among cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in children and their distribution by age, sex, ethnicity, and geographic location. Parameters for study include health knowledge, family health and nutrition, health habits, and seven physiological """"""""at risk"""""""" criteria--ponderosity, blood pressure, heart rate recovery index, cholesterol, blood sugar, hematocrit, and skin fold thickness. The univariate and multivariate impact of these risk factors on health education outcomes also will be explored. Statisticians and clinical experts will collaborate in this ex post facto study. Risk factor screening results from over 6,000 black and Caucasian midwest urban school children who participated in a seven-year health education/risk reduction program sponsored by the American Nurses' Foundation will provide the data base. The program, along with the screening tools, was developed by the American health Foundation and has been implemented throughout the United States and in 15 foreign countries. Nationally established norms will be used in data analysis to designate those """"""""at risk"""""""". Aggregate and cross tabulation techniques will be used to designate the distribution of the risk factors by age, sex, and ethnicity. Pearson correlation and appropriate cross-tabulation summary statistics will be used to identify significant correlates for study. Discriminant function analyses with jackknifing procedures will be used to define child and family characteristics of those designated at risk on the physiological indices and those experiencing positive program outcomes. Results of this study will add to the relatively unexplored multifactorial relationships among cardiovascular disease risk factors in children and provide a scientific base for planning multiple risk factor educational programs.
