[Correlation between changes in blood pressure from adolescence to young adulthood and history of parental hypertension and obesity].

Between 1980 and 1987, medical examinations and measurement of height, weight, and blood pressure were performed on 613 persons from among a cohort of 740 persons living in Hisayama town in Fukuoka prefecture who had attained the age of 19 to 20 by the end of the study. Of this group, 439 persons (215 males and 224 females) were further studied to determine the correlation between changes in blood pressure, height, weight and obesity that had occurred since age 14-15 years old, and their family history of hypertension and obesity. 1. A positive correlation was found between blood pressure levels and BMI. 2. There was a significant positive correlation between blood pressure levels at the age of 14-15 and those at the age of 19-20. 3. Those who maintained high blood pressure levels from the age of 14-15 through the age of 19-20 had high BMI. Many of these subjects had family history hypertension, but family history of obesity did not appear to have influenced the continuity of their high blood pressure levels during this stage of life. These results indicate that there was a weak tracking phenomenon for blood pressure from adolescence to young adulthood, and that family history of hypertension and continuity of obesity were detrimental factors contributing to continued high blood pressure levels. In conclusion, it is crucially important to take measures against obesity in early adolescence, especially in the presence of family history of hypertension, in order to prevent adulthood hypertension.