Almost a quarter of people between the ages of 18-39 years in the United States have high blood pressure, with readings way above the normal levels, a new study says. According to the study, presented at the American Heart Association's scientific sessions in Chicago, even school-going children are affected, with over 14 per cent between the ages of 8-19 years having hypertension.
“The prevalence of hypertension in young adults is stark, and social determinants of health amplify the risk for hypertension and subsequent premature cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Bonita Falkner, chair of the writing committee for the AHA’s 2023 scientific statement on pediatric hypertension.
For the study, researchers used data gathered from 2017 to 2020 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of its National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study considered the blood pressure readings of young adults, along with five factors that influence health like poor education, low income, lack of health insurance, food insecurity, and little to no employment.
Related News |“Social determinants of health are the social conditions arising from where people are born, live, learn, work, and mature,” said researcher Thomas Alexander, a medical student at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Adults with two or more unmet social needs were about 80 per cent more likely to have untreated blood pressure and about 70 per cent more likely to not have their blood pressure under control, results showed.
“Young adults with social needs and high blood pressure need more support to achieve blood pressure goals,” Alexander said in an AHA news release. “Our study highlights that addressing these social determinants through targeted public health strategies is essential to improve outcomes and prevent long-term heart disease and stroke complications in this vulnerable population,” he added.
It was noted that around 14 per cent of boys had elevated blood pressure and nearly 7 per cent had high blood pressure, compared with 3 and 4 per cent of girls, respectively.