Hypertension (HTN) is a health condition that may lead to severe complications and reduce the life quality of a person. There is a large number of collateral conditions and diseases that HTN may entail if not treated, and its underlying causes are not addressed. The disease enhances cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in question that yields long-term adverse effects on a patient’s health. Physical disability, cardiovascular conditions, stroke, dementia, and fractures may be linked to hypertension, revealing its dangers, and the mechanisms behind it. HTN affects an increasingly high fraction of the population in the US, being the most frequently reported primary disease. A significant part of research dedicated to HTN is focused on its correlation with weight – the reviewed article “Change in Weight Status and Development of Hypertension” by Parker et al. addresses the same side of the issue.
Several researchers have established a strong correlation between one’s lifestyle and high blood pressure. Alcoholism, smoking, an unhealthy diet, obesity, and lack of exercise were proven to enhance the risks of developing HTN (Muruganathan, 2016). The research also shows that the likelihood of the disease increases significantly if it is present in one’s family medical history in close relatives (Kjeldsen, 2018). Therefore, a substantial information corpus indicating that HTN progression is related to the factors influenced by genetics and unhealthy and risky behaviors already exists.
Parker et al. (2016), in their article, strive to reinvestigate the correlation between BMI, alterations in blood pressure levels, and the development of HTN. The study was authorized and controlled by the HealthPartners Institutional Review Board, ensuring its compliance with ethicality and that the rights of research subjects are protected (Parker et al., 2016). The research’s population consisted of 101 606 subjects among children and teenagers up to seventeen years old (Parker et al., 2016). Health systems from all over the US served as the source for the data apropos of the individuals included in the research, namely HealthPartners Medical Group in Minnesota, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, and Kaiser Permanente Northern California (Parker et al., 2016). Parker et al. (2016) used weight, height, and blood pressure indicators in the study that were taken while the individuals involved had their routine primary care visits. The Task Force guidelines formed the basis for the researchers to establish HTN or prehypertension if blood pressure from an electronic medical record reached certain levels (Parker et al., 2016). The research appears to be thoroughly prepared and executed by ethics in human medical research.
The results of the study concur with similar research done in its field. In this way, Parker et al. (2016) do not focus on bringing innovative knowledge, but on reestablishing well-known clinical findings – the study determined the link between blood pressure levels and obesity. According to Parker et al. (2016), “over a median of 3.1 years of follow-up, 0.3% of subjects developed HTN. Obese children ages 3 to 11 had a twofold increased risk of developing HTN compared with healthy weight children” (p. 1). The researchers noted that children and teenagers who continually gained excess weight had a higher likelihood of experiencing the most significant increase in blood pressure from the research population. Overweight children and teenagers were two times more likely to endure HTN symptoms, and those with severe obesity were four times more likely and constituted the primary risk group (Parker et al., 2016). These outcomes lead to a comparison with children and teenagers in a healthy weight range and show that those did not develop HTN.
Although the research conducted by Parker et al. in their article reinvestigates a well-known issue and comes without unanticipated results, it shows the importance of revising the accumulated knowledge. Jackson et al. (2018) state that nearly one in seven US teenagers has experienced continual elevated blood pressure from 2013 to 2016 (p. 2359). The study under review emphasizes the poignancy of the problems, and its conclusions may serve as a call for action. HTN is a cause of an enormous strain on public health, and despite the significant body of research dedicated to it, the disease continues to be prevalent in the US (Dzau & Balatbat, 2019). This tendency demonstrates that the future of hypertension investigation may need to accentuate, additionally, methods of health education and promotion to be more efficient. Moreover, it is stated that recent research in HTN has not positively affected the clinical picture in the country and that HTN drug development was decelerated (Dzau & Balatbat, 2019). This lack of discoveries and targets signals that investigation in the field needs to, potentially, undergo a reorientation.
Conclusively, the correlation between HTN, BMI, and lifestyle has seemingly been well-established for a long time. “Change in Weight Status and Development of Hypertension” is a research that does not seek to advance the domain of HTN research with innovative methods or unexpected results. Its paramount objective instead is to reintroduce and accentuate the importance of healthy weight among children and young adults for their health and future life quality.
References
Dzau, V. J., & Balatbat, C. A. (2019). Future of hypertension. Hypertension, 74, 450–457.
Jackson, S. L., Zhang, Z., Wiltz, J. L., Loustalot, F., Ritchey, M. D., Goodman, A. B., & Yang, Q. (2018). Hypertension among youths – United States, 2001-2016. American Journal of Transplantation, 18(9), 2356–2360.
Kjeldsen, S. E. (2018). Hypertension and cardiovascular risk: General aspects. Pharmacological Research, 129, 95–99.
Muruganathan, A. (2016). Manual of Hypertension. JP Medical Ltd.
Parker, E. D., Sinaiko, A. R., Kharbanda, E. O., Margolis, K. L., Daley, M. F., Trower, N. K., Sherwood, N. E., Greenspan, L. C., Lo, J. C., Magid, D. J., & O’Connor, P. J. (2016). Change in weight status and development of hypertension. Pediatrics, 137(3), 1-11.