Overweight and hypertension: longitudinal study in school-aged children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Cardiovascular Risk Factors
• Public Health

Background:

• Global increase in childhood overweight documented across developed and developing nations.
• Prevalence of overweight varies by ethnicity and region, with significant rates in the US and Europe.
• Previous reports indicate an association between overweight and hypertension in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the prevalence of hypertension in children.
• To investigate the relationship between gender, overweight, and blood pressure in a pediatric cohort.
• To analyze longitudinal data on blood pressure trends in relation to body mass index.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal school-based screening of 1,563 children aged 3-16 years over three years (1997-2000).
• Data collection included age, gender, height, weight, and blood pressure annually.
• Overweight defined as BMI ≥ 25 at 18 years; hypertension defined as blood pressure > 95th centile.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of elevated blood pressure was 35.1%-23.9% in males and 41%-31.2% in females across screenings.
• A significant relative risk for elevated blood pressure was observed in overweight children.
• Consistent trends of elevated blood pressure were noted across multiple screening periods.

Conclusions:

• The findings confirm a growing epidemic of cardiovascular risk in children, marked by increasing overweight and hypertension.
• The association of overweight and hypertension with other risk factors like dyslipidemia and insulin resistance is evident.
• Urgent need for effective prevention strategies to address this pediatric cardiovascular risk epidemic.