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The ExAMIN Youth SA study aims to investigate the impact of lifestyle behaviours (physical fitness/activity, dietary intake and psychosocial^* factors) involved in early vascular aging among South African children.

*Psychosocial factors include emotional wellbeing, family, friends, everyday functioning at school, and household income.

What is early vascular ageing?

As we get older, our blood vessels become stiff and susceptible to disease. Some individuals develop vascular disease or arterial stiffness at earlier stages in their lives, and this is called accelerated vascular ageing or early vascular ageing. Having stiff blood vessels, put extra strain on the heart and other organs including the eyes, brain and kidneys.

The ExAMIN Youth SA study is focused on the factors that contribute to early vascular ageing and to identify areas in which this process can be slowed down. The study included primary school children (ages 5-9 years) who are followed over a 4-year period to investigate the changes in their blood vessel health and risk factors that can increase the susceptibility of early vascular ageing.

Read more about this study by clicking on the papers below:

• The Exercise, Arterial Modulation and Nutrition in Youth South Africa Study (ExAMIN Youth SA)

• Racial differences of early vascular aging in children and adolescents

• Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Blood Pressure and Ethnicity Are Related to Salivary Cortisol Responses after an Exercise Test in Children: The ExAMIN Youth SA Study 

• Vascular Ageing in Youth: A Call to Action

• A demographic approach to assess elevated blood pressure and obesity in prepubescent children: the ExAMIN Youth South Africa study