The prevalence of hypertension in Chinese adolescents aged 15-17 years: A comparison of different criteria

This study intended to compare the prevalence of hypertension in adolescents aged 15-17 years in China according to different criteria defined by various guidelines. We included 28 715 adolescents aged 15-17 years from the China Hypertension Survey study (CHS) 2012-2015, and the 2017 American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) Clinical Practice Guideline and 2018 Chinese guidelines for children and adults were used to define hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension among Chinese adolescents aged 15-17 years was 24.4% according to the 2018 Chinese guidelines for children; the corresponding values were 18.6% according to the 2017 AAP Guidelines, and 3.5% according to 2018 Chinese guidelines for adults. The age-specific prevalence of hypertension in the age of 15, 16, and 17 years in the same population was 26.2%, 24.4%, and 23.3% according to 2018 Chinese guidelines for children; 18.8%, 17.9%, and 19.2% as per the 2017 AAP Guidelines; 3.4%, 3.4%, and 3.6% as per the 2018 Chinese guidelines for adults. A highest prevalence of hypertension was observed according to 2018 Chinese guidelines for children than the other two guidelines. Compared with the 2018 Chinese guidelines for children, a higher 95(th) percentile BP (systolic and diastolic) was also observed in the present study in each gender-age-height-specific group. And the height, which was key factor to influence blood pressure, was similar between adolescents aged 15-17 and adults, and a paralleled result was seen in the present study. Therefore, the 2018 Chinese guidelines for adults may also be appropriate for adolescents aged 15-17 years.