This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Childhood obesity linked to increased risk for early onset hypertension

There was a “strong, statistically significant” association between increasing BMI and BP and the risk for hypertension, according to data published in Pediatrics, and the researchers are calling on physicians to more effectively help patients prevent obesity in early childhood.

“Nearly one-third of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese,” Emily D. Parker, PhD, MPH, of the Health Partners Institute for education and Research, in Minneapolis, and colleagues wrote. “ … Given the prevalence of children and adolescents at risk for overweight and obesity, it is pertinent to investigate the longitudinal relationships between BP and BMI to understand the degree to which BMI and changes in BMI influence BP changes.”

To determine the relation of BMI percentile, and change in BMI percentile, with change in BP percentile and the development of hypertension, the researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study examining the electronic health records of 101,606 patients aged 3 to 17 years from three health systems located in Minnesota, Colorado and northern California.

The researchers recorded the height, weight and BP of the patients, and determined BMI and BP percentiles with the appropriate age, gender and height charts. They used a mixed linear regression model to estimate the change in BP percentile, and proportional hazards regression to estimate the risk for hypertension associated with BMI percentile.

According to the researchers, 0.3% of participants developed hypertension over a median 3.1 years of follow-up. Obese children aged 3 to 11 had twofold increased risk for hypertension compared with healthy-weight children (HR = 2.02; 95% CI, 1.28-7.04). In addition, the risk for hypertension among obese adolescents aged 12 to 17 years were similarly high (HR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.24-3.91). Those who were severely obese had a more than fourfold increased risk for hypertension, with children 4.42 times (95% CI, 2.77-7.04) more likely, and adolescents 4.46 (95% CI, 2.39-8.31) times more likely. Children and adolescents who became obese, or maintained obesity, were more than three times more likely to develop hypertension, compared with those who maintained a healthy weight.

“Obesity, especially severe obesity, at a young age confers an increased risk of early onset of cardiometabolic diseases, such as hypertension,” Parker and colleagues wrote. “The significant adverse effect of weight gain and obesity early in life, and over a short period of time, emphasizes the importance of developing early and effective clinical and public health strategies directed at the primary prevention of overweight and obesity.” – by Jason Laday

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.