Blood Pressure Change and Subclinical Target Organ Damage in Mid-Adulthood

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Research
• Pediatric Health
• Hypertension Studies

Background:

• Blood pressure (BP) is a critical dynamic trait linked to cardiovascular disease.
• Understanding BP trajectories from childhood to mid-adulthood is essential for predicting long-term health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate age-specific blood pressure (BP) levels and their rates of change from childhood to mid-adulthood.
• To investigate the association between these BP trajectories and subsequent subclinical target organ damage.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 2508 participants in the Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension Study (1987-2023).
• Assessed surrogate markers of target organ damage: arterial stiffness, left ventricular hypertrophy, and albuminuria.
• Employed growth models to construct BP trajectories and determine age-specific BP levels and rates of change.

Main Results:

• Rates of BP change were positively associated with arterial stiffness and albuminuria in mid-adulthood, independent of BP levels.
• The association between BP change rates and organ damage peaked in adolescence and declined thereafter.
• Faster BP increases during childhood and adolescence showed a stronger link to organ damage than concurrent BP levels, with the trend reversing in adulthood.

Conclusions:

• Accelerated BP increases during childhood and adolescence are more strongly associated with mid-adult subclinical target organ damage than adult BP increases.
• These findings highlight the critical importance of monitoring BP trajectories during early life stages for cardiovascular disease prevention.