Data from the long-term US Bogalusa Heart Study indicate that excess weight and high blood pressures during childhood and young adulthood are highly linked with development of essential hypertension and metabolic syndrome, according to an article in the July issue of Hypertension.

The analysis showed that fully half of all adults with hypertension were overweight as children, according to epidemiologist and lead author Dr. Sathanur Srinivasan.
The researchers retrospectively analyzed data from 3255 adult study participants who had been evaluated serially from age 4 years to age 42 years. Of the total, 2206 were normotensive, 721 were considered to have prehypertension, and 328 had hypertension.

Compared with normotensive adults, prehypertensive adults had significantly greater body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and triglyceride levels since childhood, as well as higher glucose levels since adolescence. As adults, the prehypertensive adults had higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance indexes.

Compared with normotensive adults, hypertensive adults had higher excess weight measures, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and glucose and triglyceride levels since childhood.

According to Srinivasan, these data imply that failing to address the trend toward overweight children can lead to an even more extensive epidemic of adult hypertension and metabolic syndrome in coming decades.

The Bogalusa Heart Study is the world's longest-running, biracial, community-based study of heart disease risk factors that begin in childhood.