Pediatria pre prax 2/2023

Hypertension in children: an exception or a rising trend?

Arterial hypertension is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular and renal disease in both adults and children. In adults, the prevalence of hypertension has almost doubled worldwide in the last 30 years, reaching more than 1.2 billion people. In children, a global meta-analysis of trends in hypertension prevalence has shown that blood pressure has increased worldwide in the last 20 years, from 1% in the 1990s to as much as 6% in the last decade. In children, unlike adults, no epidemiological data on trends in hypertension prevalence are available in the Czech Republic. The only Czech study published in 2007 reported hypertension prevalence rates of 0.9–2.5% in children aged 5 to 18 years. The growing global trend in hypertension prevalence in children is most often linked with increasing rates of overweight and obesity. However, the prevalence of hypertension is not on the rise in all countries despite increasing obesity rates, implying that the rising hypertension prevalence is also due to factors other than obesity (e.g., increased salt intake or reduced physical fitness). Prevention of overweight/obesity and appropriate salt intake and sufficient exercise remain the best strategies for preventing the development of primary hypertension in children.

Keywords: hypertension, blood pressure, children, kidney, left ventricular hypertrophy