Childhood hypertension: A global review published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health reports that high blood pressure in children and teenagers has almost doubled over two decades, rising from about 3.2% in 2000 to more than 6% in 2020.
Researchers analysed 96 studies covering 443,000 participants across 21 countries and warned that untreated hypertension in youth raises the risk of heart and kidney disease later in life.
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Obesity emerged as a key driver: roughly one in five children and adolescents with obesity had hypertension, about eight times the prevalence seen in peers with a healthy weight (2.4%).
The study also estimated that around 8% of young people have pre-hypertension, a warning stage that often precedes full hypertension. Boys and girls both saw increases, from 3.40% to 6.53% in boys and 3.02% to 5.82% in girls, between 2000 and 2020.
When hypertension was confirmed by a clinician across at least three clinic visits, prevalence was 4.3%. Including out-of-office monitoring (such as home readings) raised sustained hypertension estimates to about 6.7%, and more than 9% of youngsters may have “masked” hypertension that standard check-ups miss.
“The nearly twofold increase should raise alarm bells,” said Igor Rudan of the University of Edinburgh, calling for better screening and prevention. Co-author Peige Song of Zhejiang University said early detection and access to treatment are “more critical than ever.” The authors noted blood pressure typically climbs sharply in early adolescence, peaking around age 14, especially in boys, underscoring the need for routine checks during these years.
