Hundreds of Thousands of Children Have Hypertension, Landmark Study Finds

Rebecca Lewis December 16, 2016

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is perceived by some people to be a condition that only affects adults. But a landmark study has found hundreds of thousands of kids also have hypertension, but only around 25 per cent are diagnosed.

The research, backed by American Academy of Paediatrics, is the first to show a widespread trend of un-investigated abnormal blood pressures in children aged three to 18. Findings revealed that only 23 per cent of children hypertension-style blood pressures were diagnosed with the disease, while only 10 per cent of patients with symptoms of prehypertension were diagnosed.

In the study, scientists from Case Western Reserve University in the US analysed records of 400,000 children from nearly 200 paediatric primary care sites across the country, between 1999 and 2014.

Of those children and adolescents with diagnoses of hypertension for at least a year, only six percent of those who needed anti-hypertension medication received a prescription. Paediatricians were more likely to diagnose hypertension and prehypertension in children who were tall, male, overweight or obese.

’The new reality for paediatricians is that we’re taking care of more and more children who are winding up with chronic conditions, such as hypertension, that were previously seen primarily in adults,’ according to senior author Dr Alexander Fiks, a paediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

’This study shows that many paediatricians are not responding to this new reality - not only are we underdiagnosing hypertension, but we’re often not providing recommended treatment to children with the condition in order to minimize health risks.’

Hypertension is characterised by abnormally high blood pressure. The researchers note that hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood, and is a major factor for heart disease. When ignored, it can pose risk of long-term morbidity and mortality. Just recently, a different study has linked hypertension to poor cognitive skills among children and teens.

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Hundreds of thousands of children have un-diagnosed hypertension, landmark study reveals

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