Arterial hypertension in children and adolescents: review of international and Russian studies

The growing prevalence of hypertension in children and adolescents is increasingly attracting attention among scientists. The incidence of this pathology in children and adolescents is 6.67%. Objective. To perform an analysis of international and Russian studies on the prevalence of arterial hypertension in children and adolescents considering gender characteristics and risk factors. Materials and methods. Materials for this review were collected from peer-reviewed articles presented in PubMed, eLibrary.ru, CyberLeninka and other research databases from 2002 to 2025. Search terms used in this analysis included «hypertension», «children and adolescents», «prevalence» and «risk factors». Studies or articles that did not meet the eligibility criteria were excluded. Results. According to the World Health Organization, hypertension is second only to bronchial asthma and obesity in prevalence among chronic diseases in adolescents. This rate has doubled over the past 20 years, indicating that such risk factors as obesity, poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle play direct role. The prevalence of arterial hypertension is almost 8 times higher among children and adolescents with obesity. According to domestic researchers, the incidence of hypertension in children and adolescents is also increasing, and not only obesity, dyslipidemia, carbohydrate metabolism disorder, but also other risk factors are prerequisites for its development in the Russian Federation and other countries are. Conclusion. Monitoring of blood pressure level and early arterial hypertension in children is one of the best strategies for preventing chronic diseases in adults. Consideration of trends in the prevalence of arterial hypertension in children will allow to optimize medical and organizational approaches to therapeutic and preventive measures. High prevalence rates confirm the importance of integrating this pathology screening into national platforms of epidemiological surveillance of non-communicable diseases.