title: Studies on preventive nephrology: pattern of the subsets of hypertension in the paediatric, adolescent and adult population of Gassim, Saudi Arabia.
abstract: As part of our studies in preventive nephrology, we have recorded the casual blood pressure during a total population cross-sectional survey of the Faizia East Primary Health District (FEPHD). A total of 5671 subjects had adequate records. Of these 2222 were adults (> 19 years). The prevalence of systemic hypertension (HPN) was calculated, using as cut-off levels, > or = 140/90 for the adult population and > or = 95th percentile as recommended by the Task Force for Blood Pressure Control in Children (1987) for the paediatric and adolescents (3-18 years). Using these definitions without modification, the three subsets of HPN viz. combined systolic/diastolic (S/DHPN), isolated systolic (ISHPN) and isolated diastolic (IDHPN) were derived for each of the age cohorts studied-10-year age cohorts for the adults and the Task Force 3-year age cohorts for the paediatric/adolescent (P/A) population. In both adult and P/A population ISHPN constituted the bulk of the hypertensive population (56.68% for the adults and 51.57% for P/A). the IDHPN subset was the least for adults making up 11.64% while the S/DHPN was in between constituting 31.68%: For the P/A population S/DHPN was the least, 15.95% and IDHPN (32.48%) was in between. When distributed into 10-year age cohorts for the adults, ISHPN showed the steepest gradient depicting increasing prevalence with advancing age. On the other hand, IDHPN did not rise with age; if at all, it tended to fall. The slope for S/DHPN was sandwiched in between. For the P/A population, for all the 3-year age cohorts, and for all the three subsets, there was an initial peak in childhood followed by a decline in adolescence. However, some variations were discernible in each subset. ISHPN in girls peaked at 10-12 before declining but in boys it virtually followed an even keel. IDHPN, in both boys and girls peaked sharply at 6-9 before a rapid decline in prevalence into adolescence. S/DHPN also peaked at 6-9 but both the upward slope and the subsequent decline were more gentle than the other subsets. When viewed together for our study population, assuming equivalence in cut-off levels for HPN, both ISHPN and S/DHPN seem to exhibit a bimodal curve, with one peak in childhood and a second rise in adulthood continuing into old age. IDHPN showed a unimodal curve, with the one peak in childhood followed by a continuing decline through adolescence into adulthood to virtual disappearance in old age. We believe these slopes may have prognostic significance which are not entirely clear at the moment but our findings reinforce the importance of the systolic blood pressure and that diastolic blood pressure alone should no longer be used as the index treatment or complication of high blood pressure.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Unit, King Fahd Specialist Hospital (KFSH), Buraidah, Gassim, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Soyannwo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gadallah
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hams
authors.forename: N Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Kurashi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: el-Essawi
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alamry
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Beyari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003971:Diastole; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013599:Systole