The impact of updated clinical blood pressure guidelines on hypertension prevalence among children and adolescents

Description: To date, population estimates of hypertension prevalence among children and adolescents in Canada have been based on clinical guidelines in the National High Blood Pressure Education Program’s 2004 Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents (NHBPEP 2004). In 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics published updated guidelines in Clinical Practice Guideline for Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents (AAP 2017), followed by Hypertension Canada in 2020 with its publication of Comprehensive Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis, Risk Assessment, and Treatment of Hypertension in Adults and Children (HC 2020). This is the first study in Canada to compare the national estimates of the prevalence of child and adolescent hypertension based on AAP 2017 with estimates of prevalence based on NHBPEP 2004 and HC 2020. The main objectives of this analysis were to apply AAP 2017 and HC 2020 to all six cycles of Canadian Health Measures Survey data available to date and examine the effect on population estimates of hypertension prevalence by sex and age group among children and adolescents aged 6 to 17. This study also examines the impact of applying AAP 2017 across time and selected characteristics, describes those who are reclassified into a higher BP category under AAP 2017, and examines differences in hypertension prevalence resulting from applying HC 2020 versus AAP 2017.

Issue Number: 2023004

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202300400001-eng