Study finds hypertension among children and teens has doubled in two decades

Prevalence of hypertension or high blood pressure among children and teenagers has nearly doubled in the last two decades from 32 per cent in 2000 to over six per cent in 2020 according to a global analysis published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journalLeft unaddressed hypertension can lead to cardiovascular and kidney diseaseEstimates also suggest that nearly a fifth of the worlds children and adolescents with obesity have hypertension about eight times the prevalence among those having a healthy weight 24 per cent researchers including those from the UKs University of Edinburgh saidThe findings suggest obesity is a substantial driver of the increase in childhood hypertension Obesity tends to cause other issues such as insulin resistance and changes in blood vessels which can make it harder to maintain a healthy blood pressureFurther eight per cent of children and teenagers around the world may be having prehypertension which is a warning sign of hypertension the study foundThe nearly twofold increase in childhood high blood pressure over 20 years should raise alarm bells for healthcare providers and caregivers said study author Igor Rudan director of the centre for global health research at The Usher Institute University of Edinburgh UKBut the good news is that we can take steps now such as improving screening and prevention efforts to help control high blood pressure in children and reduce the risks of additional health complications in the future Rudan saidThe metaanalysis looked at data from 96 previously published studies involving more than 443000 children and across 21 countriesBetween 2000 and 2020 the prevalence of childhood hypertension nearly doubled increasing from 340 per cent to 653 per cent in boys and from 302 per cent to 582 per cent in girls the authors wroteThe study also found that more than nine per cent of children and adolescents the world over may have masked hypertension which is high blood pressure that only shows up in outofoffice tests and therefore could be undetected during regular checkupsHow blood pressure is measured can affect prevalence estimates the researchers saidFor example when confirmed by a healthcare provider at a minimum of three inoffice visits the global prevalence of hypertension was estimated at 43 per cent of children and adolescentsHowever when the researchers also included outofoffice assessments such as home blood pressure monitoring the prevalence of sustained hypertension climbed to about 67 per centChildhood high blood pressure is more common than previously thought and relying solely on traditional inoffice blood pressure readings likely underestimates the true prevalence or leads to misdiagnosis of hypertension in children and adolescents said study author Peige Song of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in ChinaEarly detection and an improved access to prevention and treatment options are more critical than ever to identify children experiencing or atrisk for hypertension Addressing childhood hypertension now is vital to prevent future health complications as children transition to adulthood Song saidPrehypertension is especially prevalent during teenage with prevalence reaching around 118 per cent compared to about seven per cent in younger children the researchers foundBlood pressure also tends to increase sharply during early adolescence peaking around age 14 especially among boys they saidThe pattern emphasises the importance of regular blood pressure screening during critical years the team addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever