Associations between body mass index and height during childhood and adolescence and the risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Summary Body mass index (BMI) at child and adolescent ages is positively associated with adult coronary heart disease (CHD) whereas height at these ages may be inversely associated with CHD. However, potential effects of age, sex, and socioeconomic status on associations between BMI and CHD are less investigated. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of BMI and height at ages 2–19 years in relation to adult CHD and examined effects of age, sex, socioeconomic status, and other factors. Twenty‐two studies on BMI and five on height were included, comprising 5,538,319 individuals and 69,830 CHD events. Random effects meta‐analyses were conducted. Child and adolescent BMI were positively associated with CHD (hazard ratio = 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.01, 1.25] per standard deviation [SD]), and categorical analyses supported these findings. The associations did not significantly differ by age, sex, or by adjustment for socioeconomic status. Child and adolescent height were inversely associated with CHD (hazard ratio = 0.87; 95% CI [0.81, 0.93] per SD), and categorical analyses agreed. Insufficient studies on height precluded subgroup analyses. Heterogeneity was generally high in all analyses. We found that BMI in youth is positively associated with adult CHD regardless of sex or adjustment for socioeconomic status whereas height is inversely associated with later risk of CHD.