To investigate the cardiovascular health status and influencing factors of children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 in five provinces and cities of China.

From April to November 2022, 9 schools (including 4 primary schools and 5 middle schools) were selected from Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangxi, and Hunan provinces. In total 2 166 students from the third grade of primary school to the third grade of senior high school were enrolled in the study. The methods of data collection included questionnaire, physical measurement, and laboratory test. According to the revised American Heart Association standard, cardiovascular health was evaluated by four health behavior indicators (smoking, BMI, physical exercise, and dietary evaluation) and three health factors (total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose). The indicators were divided into ideal, moderate, and poor levels. The total average score of 7 indexes was calculated and divided into low, medium, and high-risk grades according to the score. Multiple logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of cardiovascular health status of children and adolescents.

Students with 7 ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors accounted for 1.8%, and those with more than 5 ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors accounted for 48.7%. The proportion of girls with 2 or 4 cardiovascular health behaviors was significantly higher than that of boys (P=0.025). The proportion of children and adolescents from township and rural areas with 2 to 4 cardiovascular health behaviors, 2 to 3 cardiovascular health factors, and 4 to 7 cardiovascular health behaviors and factors were significantly higher than those from urban areas (P< 0.05). There were significant differences in the total average scores of cardiovascular health indexes among age, sex, sleep duration, urban and rural areas, regions, and income levels (P<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that long sleep time, female, rural area, and family income were positively correlated with the decrease of cardiovascular risk of children and adolescents, while the increase of age and the decrease of cardiovascular risk of children and adolescents in the south were negatively correlated.

The cardiovascular health of children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 in five provinces and cities of China is generally at the middle level, and the proportion of 7 ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors is low. In the future, attention should be paid to the prevention and control of children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with short sleep time, urban, southern, and low family income, so as to improve cardiovascular health.