Scientists Sound the Alarm Over an Illness Affecting Children Worldwide

The number of cases of childhood hypertension is rising globally, according to a study published on the Lancet portal.

“Childhood hypertension affects a significant and growing proportion of the global pediatric population,” the publication reports.

Scientists link this trend to worsening lifestyle habits and increasing rates of obesity. After analyzing data from studies covering a total of 443,914 children, the authors found that between 2000 and 2020, the prevalence of childhood hypertension nearly doubled: from 3.4% to 6.53% in boys and from 3.02% to 5.82% in girls.

Commenting on the findings, Ignacio Fernández Lozano, President of the Spanish Society of Cardiology, said the results merely confirm what specialists have long been observing in clinical practice, according to RIA Novosti.

“This is alarming, as we see the cardiovascular health of children and adolescents steadily deteriorating. Hypertension is an adult disease, and its appearance at such a young age is cause for concern,” he warned.

Arterial hypertension is a condition characterized by an increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) to 140 mmHg or higher and simultaneously or independently an increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) to ≥ 90 mmHg. According to WHO data from the end of 2020, 1.13 billion people worldwide have hypertension, with around 40% unaware of their condition and only ten percent receiving treatment.