Role of Screening Tests in the Detection and Management of Blood Pressure Abnormalities Among Young Population

Abstract

The prevalence of hypertension is increasing among young population worldwide. So there is an interest in detecting prehypertension and hypertension in childhood. We determined blood pressure (BP) recorded at a screening test in a young population. We retrospectively evaluated the medical records including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) of 685 male and 130 female apparently healthy adolescents. We evaluated the prevalence of BP categories: normotension, prehypertension, and hypertension. The prevalence of normotension (n = 369), prehypertension (n = 333), and hypertension (n = 113) was 45.3%, 40.9% and 13.9%, respectively; prehypertension and hypertension were significantly higher among males. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was significantly higher among overweight males and females. The BMI significantly correlated with SBP, DBP, and heart rate among both genders. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension is high among Turkish adolescents. Screening tests focused on BP and BMI measurement may help detect the young population at risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the future.

Stress Reactivity, Susceptibility to Hypertension, and Differential Expression of Genes in Hypertensive Compared to Normotensive Patients

“…Although the hypertensive risk increases with age [ 3 , 4 ], the age of the first clinical manifestations of hypertension is now diminishing [ 5 ]. Preeclampsia (hypertension in pregnancy) is becoming a challenge to obstetricians [ 6 ].…”

The management of prehypertension in young adults

“…6 Untreated prehypertensive individuals are thought more probably to developing HN, 7,8 coronary heart disorder (CHD) [9][10][11] and renal disorder. 12,13 The rates of diagnosis are consistently low in young adults (15-44 years old), 14,15 which greatly increases the difficulty in the development and implementation of intervention strategies for HN and may lead to rapid onset of uncontrolled diseases in old age. In addition, young adults are unique and have different lifestyle practices, comorbid conditions, and disease characteristics.…”