Meeting of the Balkan Excellent Centers “Obesity in youth and hypertension” Vasilios Kotsis, MD, PhD Associate Prof. Medicine Aristotle University Thessaloniki Chairman WG on obesity, diabetes and the high risk patient, European Society Hypertension Για την διαχρονικά σταθερή στηριξή του

Abstract Trends in childhood BP from the 80s to 2000s have reported a 0.51 mmHg annual increase in SPB among girls and 0.45 mmHg in SBP among boys, but only 15% of the increase can be explained by the increase in BMI. Epidemiological studies have linked childhood obesity to hypertension and pre-hypertension. Irrespective of race, age, sex, the risk of elevated BP was significantly higher in the upper compared with the lower decile of BMI. Obese children had a 2 to 4.5 times likelihood to have elevated systolic BP. Boys with BMI 75th-85th pc as children were 4 times more likely and those >85th perc were 5 times more likely to become hypertensive as adults. In all studies children with left ventricular hypertrophy had higher BMI and increased prevalence of obesity compared with children with normal cardiac geometry. Similar results have been reported for obesity and carotid IMT. In conclusions, the prevalence of elevated BP among children and adolescents has increased, in part due to the childhood obesity epidemic. There is strong evidence that intermediate markers of target organ damage such as LVH are common in obese children with BP elevation. Early detection of BP elevation may be in an ideal position to institute preventive measures, particularly in the overweight and obese pediatric population.