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Muscatine Heart Study
Book chapter

Muscatine Heart Study

Kara M. Whitaker and Elaine M. Urbina
Primordial Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, pp.237-244
Contemporary Cardiology, Springer Nature Switzerland
2026
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-14256-6_15

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Abstract

The Muscatine Heart Study was originally designed to define the distribution of established adult cardiovascular risk factors in school-aged children and to characterize the tracking of risk factors from childhood into adulthood. Beginning in 1970, the Muscatine Heart Study is now the longest-running and largest study of cardiovascular risk factors in children within the United States. This chapter summarizes the key projects that comprise the lifespan of the Muscatine Heart Study, including the Muscatine School Surveys (1970–1981), the Muscatine Family Studies (1971–1985), the Muscatine Young Adult Follow-Up Surveys (1982–1991), the Muscatine Study Longitudinal Adult Cohort (1992–2008), and the Muscatine Study Offspring Study (2001–2008). In addition, the Muscatine Heart Study is one of seven cohorts participating in the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium (2009–Present), from which initiated the i3C CV Outcomes Study (2015–2019). Furthermore, key contributions of the Muscatine Heart Study to the scientific literature are discussed, representing three broad research areas (1) frequency of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children, (2) tracking of risk factors from childhood to adulthood, and (3) childhood predictors of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular events in adulthood. The Muscatine Heart Study has made a significant public health impact, finding that many well-established adult cardiovascular risk factors (body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and smoking) can be identified as early as childhood as key predictors of adult cardiovascular disease development. Efforts to decrease the global burden of cardiovascular disease should focus on primordial and primary prevention and begin in early childhood.
Adults Cardiovascular Disease Cholesterol Blood pressure Body mass index Children cohort i3C Consortium Muscatine Heart Study Triglycerides

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