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Childhood Obesity, Atherogenesis, and Adult Cardiovascular Disease

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Pediatric Obesity

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE))

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Abstract

Natural history of atherosclerosis – Atherosclerosis was described as a medical curiosity in human arteries by numerous observers over the last three centuries. Early in the twentieth century, atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries was linked to thrombosis, arterial occlusion, and myocardial infarction (1) and is now known to be the arterial lesion underlying most forms of adult cardiovascular disease [coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease]. The frequency of cardiovascular disease due to atherosclerosis increased in the United States and in the other industrialized countries until it became the leading cause of disability and death by the 1950s (2).

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McGill, H.C., McMahan, C.A., Gidding, S.S. (2010). Childhood Obesity, Atherogenesis, and Adult Cardiovascular Disease. In: Freemark, M. (eds) Pediatric Obesity. Contemporary Endocrinology. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-874-4_19

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