Methods:

Data for this study were from the Collaborative Perinatal Project, a national cohort initiated in 1959 to 1966, comprising pregnant women and their offspring who were regularly assessed from birth to 7 years. The New England Family Study is a set of follow-up studies of the now adult offspring from the New England sites. The present participants include New England Family Study participants involved in two adult follow-up studies: first, in the Brown-Harvard Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center and, subsequently, in the EdHealth study that included 618 Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center participants, selected with preference for racial/ethnic minorities and those with low and high levels of education. Three specific factors assessed at age 7 years were examined. These included attention regulation (ability to stay focused), cognitive ability, and positive home environment. Favorable cardiovascular risk was defined as meeting the following criteria in midlife: systolic blood pressure ≤120 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≤80 mm Hg, not taking antihypertensive medication, total cholesterol <200 mg/dl, not taking cholesterol-lowering medication, body mass index <25 kg/m², not having diabetes mellitus, and nonsmoker. Favorable cardiovascular risk was dichotomized according to whether or not participants met all criteria (yes/no).