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Development of Blood Pressure Norms and Definition of Hypertension in Children

Pediatric Hypertension

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Abstract

The definition of hypertension in children and adolescents is based on analysis of blood pressure (BP) data from a large population of healthy children and adolescents to determine the normative distribution of BP in childhood. Such data were not available prior to the 1970s and measurement of BP was not a standard practice in asymptomatic healthy children at the time. In the absence of reference data on BP levels in healthy children, adult criteria were used. Early reports on BP levels in healthy children indicated that the normal range of BP was considerably lower than in adults, and there was a progressive increase in BP levels that corresponded to childhood growth and development. Subsequently, several large observational studies were conducted on healthy children and adolescents. These studies applied uniform methods in BP measurement along with growth measures of height and weight. The combined data from these studies were analyzed to determine the normative distribution of BP from early childhood to late adolescence. In the absence of morbidity and mortality data, hypertension in childhood continues to be defined statistically as systolic or diastolic pressure ≥95th percentile for sex, age, and height on repeated measurement. For adolescents, hypertension is currently defined as ≥130/80 mm Hg, similar to the current definition hypertension in adults.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Bonita Falkner

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  1. Bonita Falkner
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Correspondence to Bonita Falkner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Nephrology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA

    Joseph T. Flynn

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Julie R. Ingelfinger

  3. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Tammy Brady

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Tammy Brady MD

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Falkner, B. (2022). Development of Blood Pressure Norms and Definition of Hypertension in Children. In: Flynn, J.T., Ingelfinger, J.R., Brady, T. (eds) Pediatric Hypertension. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_10-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_10-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31420-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31420-4

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  1. Latest

    Development of Blood Pressure Norms and Definition of Hypertension in Children
    Published:
    01 May 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_10-2

  2. Original

    Development of Blood Pressure Norms and Definition of Hypertension in Children
    Published:
    25 December 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_10-1

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