Pre-hypertension and hypertension in adolescence: how much does it occur in a Nigerian community?

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is an important worldwide public-health challenge because of its high frequency and concomitant risks of cardiovascular and kidney disease. Previous studies have documented that hypertension may begin in adolescence, perhaps even in childhood.

OBJECTIVES

This study set out to determine the prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension in adolescence in a Nigerian community.

METHODS

A cross-sectional screening of blood pressure of secondary school students was conducted in Sagamu local government area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Total sample of 1638 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years were chosen from stratified schools and from various classes of selected schools. Their blood pressure was assessed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of pre-hypertension in this population ranged from 0-10.5% in male students and 0-2.9% in female students across the age. In the whole population the prevalence of systolic and diastolic pre-hypertension were 1.6% and 0.5% respectively for male adolescents while that of female students were 0.4% and 0.5% respectively. The low prevalence of 0.1% was observed for systolic and diastolic hypertension in male and 0.1% for female systolic hypertension. Furthermore, pre-hypertension prevalence was increased with age.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, our data demonstrated a low prevalence of pre-hypertension and hypertension in Nigerian adolescents living in Sagamu local government area of Ogun state, south west Nigeria.