New guidelines qualify 795K of American children for more hypertensives



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The average blood pressure of young Americans is decreasing, according to a new CDC report, although updated guidelines rank close to 800,000 more as hypertensive.

Using data from NHANES surveys from 2001 to 2016, Sandra L. Jackson, PhD, and colleagues estimated changes over time in the national prevalence of obesity and hypertension among teenagers 12-19 years old. They also analyzed the results through the lenses of the 2004 Hypertension Guidelines and the 2017 updates by the American Academy of Pediatrics

. since heavier children are more likely to have high blood pressure. According to both guidelines, children aged 12 to 17 were considered hypertensive if their BAC exceeded the 95th percentile for their age. The 2017 update also ranked hypertension as above 130/80 mm Hg for individuals aged 18 and 19, while the old guidelines used a 140/90 cutoff.

According to new criteria and NHANES data sets, an additional 2.6% of young Americans would be classified as suffering from hypertension, which corresponds to about 795,000 people nationwide. . Jackson et al. Previous screening and intervention would be recommended for these patients, which is crucial since they could reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by normalizing their blood pressure at adulthood.

"Older youth, men, and those who suffered from obesity accounted for disproportionate proportions of people reclassified as suffering from hypertension," Jackson et al. wrote. "Clinicians and public health professionals could expect a higher prevalence of hypertension with the application of the new guideline and can use this data to inform actions to treat hypertension in young people. "

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