Elevated BP in Adolescence Linked to Increased Cardiovascular Risk for Males

TUESDAY, Sept. 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For males, increased blood pressure (BP) in late adolescence is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular events, according to a study published online Sept. 26 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Helene Rietz, M.D., from Umeå University in Sweden, and colleagues measured the association between BP in adolescence and future cardiovascular events in a cohort study involving males in late adolescence who were conscripted into the military from 1969 to 1977. Data were included for 1,366,519 males (mean age, 18.3 years).

The researchers found that baseline BP was classified as elevated (120 to 129/<80 mm Hg) and hypertensive (≥130/80 mm Hg) for 28.8 and 53.7 percent of participants, respectively. Overall, 79,644 participants had a primary outcome (composite of cardiovascular death or first hospitalization for myocardial infarction, heart failure, ischemic stroke, or intracerebral hemorrhage) during a median follow-up of 35.9 years. The adjusted hazard ratios were 1.10, 1.15, 1.23, 1.32, 1.31, 1.55, and 1.71 for elevated BP, stage 1 isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), stage 1 isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), stage 1 isolated systolic-diastolic hypertension (SDH), stage 2 ISH, stage 2 IDH, and stage 2 SDH, respectively. Across BP stages, the cumulative risk for cardiovascular events also increased gradually, from 14.7 percent for normal BP to 24.3 percent for stage 2 SDH at age 68 years.

"These findings suggest that early detection and treatment of hypertension might reduce risk for future cardiovascular events," the authors write.

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