New research reveals that the rate of high blood pressure in children and teenagers has nearly doubled between 2000 and 2020. In 2000, about 3.2% of young people under age 19 had hypertension. By 2020, that number grew to over 6.2%, affecting 114 million children worldwide.
The increase is strongly linked to the rise in childhood obesity. Nearly 19% of obese children and adolescents have high blood pressure. In contrast, less than 3% of children at a healthy weight have hypertension.
Obesity also causes other health problems like insulin resistance and changes in blood vessels. These issues make it harder to keep blood pressure within a healthy range.
Researchers analyzed data from 96 studies covering more than 443,000 children in 21 countries. They found that how blood pressure is measured affects the number of children diagnosed with hypertension. When blood pressure was checked over at least three visits in a healthcare setting, the prevalence was estimated at 4.3%. Including home blood pressure monitoring raised the estimated prevalence to 6.7%.
The study also highlights conditions called masked hypertension, where high blood pressure goes undetected in routine checkups, affecting about 9.2% of children. Another condition, white-coat hypertension, where blood pressure is high only at the doctor’s office, affects 5.2% of children. This suggests some children may be wrongly classified.
Experts urge more regular blood pressure screening for children, especially during adolescence when blood pressure tends to rise sharply. The study shows that elevated blood pressure in young people is a growing public health problem requiring urgent attention to reduce future risks of heart and kidney diseases.
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