[Arterial hypertension frequency in urban and rural population of children]

Basic aim of this investigation was to determine the frequency and the form of the arterial hypertension in children between 7 and 16 years in urban and rural population. Particular aims were to determine by screening method, i.e., by elimination, the arterial hypertension prevalence in relation to the permanent addres (town-village), age and sex of children; to determine, by the same method, the prevalence of essential and borderline arterial hyipertension; to test the factors of risk in the patients with essential and borderline arterial hypertension: obesity, hereditary predisposition (relatives of first and second order) and lipid. The examination included 3000 children (age 7-16 years) during regular school days. Essential hypertension in this study was defined as blood pressure permanently higher than 95th percentile for age and sex on at least three distinguished measurements; secondary causes of hypertension were excluded by the available clinical, laboratory and functional investigation. Borderline hypertension was defined as blood pressure permanently higher than 90th percentile, and from time to time, higher than 95th percentile for age and sex on at least three measurements, when the secondary causes of hypertension were excluded. The results allowed the following conclusions: Prevalence of arterial hypertension for all children was 0.93% and was lowest in children aged 7-16 years (0.83%), and the highest in children aged 15-16 years (2.96%). Prevalence of essential hypertension was 0.37%, and of borderline hypertension 0.56%. Prevalence of arterial hypertension was greater in urban than in rural population of children (1,09:0.55%), but without statistically significant difference (p>0.05). Hypertension was established in 60.7% of members of families of children with increased blood pressure. 21.4% of hypertensive children were overweighted. Hyperlipidemia was noted in 4 children with essential hypertension.