Rapid Fire
Childhood Hypertension
- 10 Jan 2026
- 2 min read
Recently, health experts highlighted that the prevalence of elevated blood pressure among children and adolescents has nearly doubled globally between 2000 and 2020, signalling a growing paediatric public health concern.
- About: Childhood Hypertension refers to persistently elevated blood pressure in children and adolescents, diagnosed using age, sex and height-specific percentile charts rather than adult cut-offs.
- Paediatric vs Adult Hypertension: Unlike adults, where hypertension is largely primary in nature, elevated blood pressure in children is often secondary, commonly associated with disorders of the kidneys, adrenal glands, and blood vessels.
- Causes and Risk Factors: Rapid urbanisation has altered childhood lifestyles, leading to increased consumption of processed and high-salt foods, reduced physical activity, prolonged screen time, and higher exposure to environmental stressors such as noise, air pollution, and academic pressure.
- Rising childhood obesity, particularly rapid weight gain and central adiposity, remains the most significant modifiable risk factor for paediatric hypertension.
- Clinical Features: The condition is largely asymptomatic in early stages, often remaining undetected without routine screening.
- Health Impacts: Persistently elevated blood pressure from childhood increases lifetime risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease, with early-onset vascular damage and irreversible arterial stiffening.
- Prevention and Management: Prevention must begin early and focus on lifestyle modification, including reduced salt and sugar intake, avoidance of ultra-processed foods, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, and stress management.
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