CLINICAL COURSE, RISK FACTORS AND REGIONAL PREVENTION PRIORITIES OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION IN CHILDREN

This article analyzes the clinical course of arterial hypertension in children, diagnostic criteria, major risk factors, regional prevention priorities, and organization of monitoring in primary care. Pediatric blood pressure cannot be interpreted by one universal adult number, because in children younger than 13 years it depends on age, sex, and height percentiles. In adolescents, persistent blood pressure of 130/80 mmHg or higher is interpreted as hypertension. The article uses national clinical protocols, pediatric recommendations, UNICEF data on the school nutrition environment in Uzbekistan, international literature, and demographic indicators of the regions of Uzbekistan. Open official sources do not provide a complete region-by-region registry of pediatric hypertension prevalence. Therefore, the article does not invent regional prevalence rates. Instead, it presents a regional screening-priority framework based on population size, urbanization, school-age coverage, nutrition environment, excess weight risk, and ecological determinants.