ISSN: 2639-2038
Authors: Liu X , Jie W and Wang Y
Background: Hypertension in youth, often linked to the obesity epidemic, is a precursor to future cardiovascular disease. However, data on uncontrolled hypertension and its management in this population are limited. The objective of this study was to examine the awareness and treatment of uncontrolled hypertension among US youths aged 16–24 years by weight status. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from 812 participants (weighted n=36 million) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2021–2023. Weight status was categorized as healthy weight or overweight/obesity. Uncontrolled hypertension, awareness, and treatment were defined according to standard guidelines and published literatures. Unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence internals (CI) were estimated using Poisson regression models with robust error. Results: Prevalence of hypertension among youths aged 16–24 years was 13.7% (weighted n=4.9 million), and uncontrolled hypertension was 13.3% (weighted n=4.7 million). Overweight/obese youths had a significantly higher prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension than their healthy-weight peers (19.3% vs 7.6%; adjusted PR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.5–3.7). Awareness was critically low, and treatment was nearly nonexistent. The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension increased substantially with age (18.6% in ages 20–24 vs. 6.9% in ages 16–19 years) and was much higher in males (18.7% in males vs. 7.8% in females). Conclusions: A large proportion of US youths, particularly those with overweight/obesity, have uncontrolled hypertension. The low rates of awareness and pharmacological treatment identified in this study suggest a need for further evaluation of current screening and management practices within this population.
Keywords: Blood Pressure; Hypertension; Uncontrolled Hypertension; Obesity; Teens; Young Adults
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