Background:
Pre-hypertension and hypertension in childhood are defined by sex-, age- and height-specific 90th (or ≥120/80 mmHg) and 95th percentiles of blood pressure (BP), respectively, by the 2004 Fourth Report. However, these cut-offs are complex and cumbersome for use. This study assessed the performance of a simplified BP definition to predict adult hypertension and subclinical cardiovascular disease.
Methods:
The longitudinal cohort consisted of 1,225 adults (530 males, aged 26.3–47.7 years) from the Bogalusa Heart Study, with 27.1 years follow-up since childhood. We used 110/70 and 120/80 mmHg for children (age 6-11 years), and 120/80 and 130/85 mmHg for adolescents (age 12-17 years) as the simplified definitions of childhood pre-hypertension and hypertension, respectively, to compare with the complex definitions. Adult carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), pulse wave velocity (PWV), and left ventricular mass were measured using digital ultrasound instruments. High CIMT was defined as being above the age-, gender- and race-specific 80th percentile, high PWV as being above the age-, gender-, race- and heart rate-specific 80th percentile and left ventricular hypertrophy as >46.7 g/m
2.7
in women and >49.2 g/m
2.7
in men.
Results:
Compared to normal BP, childhood hypertensives diagnosed by the simplified definition (4.1%, 50/1,225) and the complex definition (4.8%, 59/1,225) were both at higher risk of adult hypertension with hazard ratio=3.1 (95% confidence interval=1.8-5.3) by the simplified definition and 3.2 (2.0-5.0) by the complex definition, high PWV with 3.5 (1.7-7.1) and 2.2 (1.2-4.1), high CIMT with 3.1 (1.7-5.6) and 2.0 (1.2-3.6), and left ventricular hypertrophy with 3.4 (1.7-6.8) and 3.0 (1.6-5.6). The prediction using the two childhood BP definitions for adult hypertension and subclinical cardiovascular disease was also assessed by reclassification or receiver operating characteristic curve analyses.
Conclusions:
The simplified childhood BP definition predicts the risk of adult hypertension and subclinical cardiovascular disease equally as the complex definition does. The simplified pediatric BP cut-offs could be easier to use for screening children at high risk and for targeting early life interventions to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in later life.
Letter by Cicero et al Regarding Article, “Long-Term Excessive Body Weight and Adult Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Are Linked Through Later-Life Body Size and Blood Pressure: The Bogalusa Heart Study”
