Preventive study of atherosclerosis and ischaemic heart disease risk factors among Kaunas school-children.

In a series of 1,216 Kaunas school-children aged 10-15 years, a study was conducted of risk factors for atherosclerosis and ischaemic heart disease (elevated blood pressure, overweight, reduced physical activity, and smoking), and of the influence of nonmedicamentous measures on the risk factors' level. After three-years intensive health education concentrated on school-children and their parents, the number of smokers and subjects with reduced physical activity among school-children significantly decreased and the number of overweight school-children also dropped in the preventive intervention district, compared to the control district. The study showed the need for regular examinations of school-children for detecting the presence of risk factors, and the effectiveness of primary non-medicamentous prevention of atherosclerosis and ischaemic heart disease, carried out from school-age.