Correlates of adolescent blood pressure at five-year follow-up

In 1973, standardized measurements of blood pressure (BP), height, and weight were obtained on all adolescents attending high school in a rural Kentucky county. In 1978, a 5-year follow-up BP study was undertaken of all adolescents who were 14-15 years old at the time of the initial survey (n = 310), and of selected 16-19 year olds who were in the high, intermediate, and low ranges of the initial sex-specific BP distributions (n = 198). Follow-up measurements included height, weight, and BP on all subjects and, in addition, overnight sodium (Na) excretion, serum cholesterol, glucose, triglyceride, and uric acid concentrations on the older group. Our findings indicate that BP in young adults is related to BP in adoleslcence, change in relative weight since adoleslcence, and current relative weight. Relative rank order of initial BP levels were maintained over the 5-year period in both the younger and older groups. Additional cardiovascular disease risk factors were found to cluster in young adults with high BP, and clustering of risk factors may, in part, be related to high relative weight.