Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 11, 2026
Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
Published on: June 12, 2017
Prevalence of Hypertension in Children with Early-Stage ADPKD
Laura Massella1, Djalila Mekahli2,3, Dušan Paripović4
1Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatric Subspecialties, and.
Insights
Hypertension is common in children with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), even with normal kidney function. Cyst burden and kidney size are linked to hypertension in these young patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Genetics
- Hypertension Research
Background:
- Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a common genetic kidney disorder.
- While often symptomatic in adulthood, pediatric onset with hypertension is possible.
- Limited data exist on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (BP) in children with ADPKD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence of hypertension in children with ADPKD using ambulatory BP monitoring.
- To identify factors associated with hypertension in this pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective multicenter study of 310 children (<18 years) with ADPKD across 22 European centers.
- Collected ambulatory BP monitoring data, anthropometrics, kidney function, BP treatment, and kidney ultrasound.
- Analyzed associations between cyst score, kidney length, and hypertension prevalence.
Main Results:
- 31% daytime, 42% nighttime, and 35% 24-hour hypertension prevalence observed.
- 52% lacked normal nocturnal BP dipping; 18% had isolated nocturnal hypertension.
- Higher cyst score and kidney length (SD score) significantly associated with hypertension.
Conclusions:
- Hypertension is highly prevalent in children with ADPKD, even at young ages.
- Ambulatory BP monitoring is crucial for diagnosing hypertension in pediatric ADPKD.
- Kidney cyst burden and size are significant risk factors for hypertension in affected children.
Background And Objectives:
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is the most common inheritable kidney disease, frequently thought to become symptomatic in adulthood. However, patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease may develop signs or symptoms during childhood, in particular hypertension. Although ambulatory BP monitoring is the preferred method to diagnose hypertension in pediatrics, data in children with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease are limited.
Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements:
Our retrospective multicenter study was conducted to collect ambulatory BP monitoring recordings from patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease age <18 years old. Basic anthropometric parameters as well as data on kidney function, BP treatment, and kidney ultrasound were also collected.
Results:
Data from 310 children with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease with a mean age of 11.5±4.1 years old were collected at 22 European centers. At the time when ambulatory BP monitoring was performed, 95% of children had normal kidney function. Reference data for ambulatory BP monitoring were available for 292 patients. The prevalence rates of children with hypertension and/or those who were treated with antihypertensive drugs were 31%, 42%, and 35% during daytime, nighttime, or the entire 24-hour cycle, respectively. In addition, 52% of participants lacked a physiologic nocturnal BP dipping, and 18% had isolated nocturnal hypertension. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between a categorical cyst score that was calculated on the basis of the number of cysts >1 cm per kidney and daytime hypertension (odds ratio, 1.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.21 to 2.4; P=0.002), nighttime hypertension (odds ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.05 to 1.63; P=0.02), or 24-hour hypertension (odds ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.08 to 1.81; P=0.01). Kidney length, expressed as SD score, was also significantly associated with nighttime hypertension (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 1.42; P=0.10).
Conclusions:
These data indicate high prevalence of hypertension in children with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease starting at young ages.
Related Concept Videos
01:08Prevalence and Incidence
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
01:28Hypertension I: Introduction
01:29Hypertension II: Pathophysiology
01:23Hypertension V: Nursing Management
01:26Stages of Infection
01:22Stages of Sleep
Before sleep begins, in wakefulness, the brain exhibits primarily beta waves, which are high in frequency and low in amplitude, indicating alertness...