We usually think of high
blood pressure, or hypertension, as a problem that affects adults. But in fact, this condition can
be present at all ages, even in infancy. About five of every 100 children have higher than normal
blood pressure, although less than one in 100 has medically significant hypertension. Trends in blood pressure in early life are a marker of subsequent cardiovascular risk. The major determinants of adult blood pressure seem to be set in early life.Experts believe the rise in blood pressure may be caused by the children''s exposure to environmental factors such as lack of physical exercise, poor diet, obesity and stress. The findings by academics from the University of Edinburgh and the Erasmus Medical Center in The Netherlands, are published in the April 2004 Journal of Human Hypertension.
High blood pressure (BP) is one of the most important causes of coronary heart disease and stroke, the dominant causes of death in the U.K. The Edinburgh and Dutch researchers reviewed scientific publications to find out if variations in BP of South Asian, African and Chinese descent children reflected those of their equivalent adult populations in Britain. For example, BP levels in adults of African populations tend to be higher than the average U.K. level, whereas BP levels amongst those of Indian and Chinese origins are the same. People of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origins tend to have lower BP. Researchers expected to find that the BP levels in these children would fall somewhere between their ethnic group "norm" as seen in adults and the U.K. average. Instead, the BP levels were more or less the same in every ethnic group.
Professor Raj Bhopal of the University of Edinburgh said, "Ethnic variations in BP levels are being lost as children of South Asian, African and Chinese descent adopt the same diet and lifestyle as white European origin youngsters. This worrying trend will have special significance for people of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origins, who have generally lower levels of BP than the population as a whole, but despite this, have high levels of stroke and heart attacks. If the BP levels of young people from these ethnic groups rise toward the average, their risk of stroke and heart attack will also increase. We already know that lack of exercise, obesity and insulin resistance (a precursor to diabetes) are important problems in these children. This new finding adds to the health challenge."
There is, generally, higher BP in children whose mothers were malnourished in early pregnancy. Dr. Charles Agyemang of the Erasmus Medical Centre explained, "Fetal and early life growth patterns may be shaping these ethnic variations in BP in ways that we do not understand. It is clear, however, that the younger generation of ethnic minority groups have different BP patterns than the previous generation."