Prevalence of increased arterial pulse pressure among children and adolescents

Purpose Arterial pulse pressure (APP) is used as a noninvasive measurement of arterial stiffness (AS). Most AS studies were conducted in adult populations as it is often considered a phenomenon of aging. The objective of this study is to assess the longitudinal change in prevalence of AS among children and adolescents. Methods The Minneapolis Childrenʹs Blood Pressure Study (MCBPS) is a prospective cohort study and the initial (1978) and multiple timed measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and fourth phase diastolic blood pressure (DBP4) were made semiannually or annually. Visit 16 was completed in 1987. Black and white subjects who participated in all 16 visits were included in the analysis (n = 487). APP, a surrogate measure of AS, is derived mathematically as the difference between SBP and DBP4. The level of 60 mmHg or higher of APP was defined as presence of AS. Results There were 218 females, 269 males, 114 blacks and 373 whites. The mean ages of children in visits 1 and 16 were 7.7 (SD = 0.7) and 16.6 (SD = 0.7) years, respectively. Similarly, the mean APP levels at these two visits were 36.3 (SD = 12.0), and 43.6 (SD = 11.5) mmHg, respectively. Prevalence of increased APP varied at each timed point. At the beginning of the study (1978), prevalence was 3.9%. In 1987, prevalence increased to 10.1%. Proportions of those with increased APP ranged from 3.3% to 21.4% during 8 years of follow-up. Conclusion Our results indicate that AS, as defined by APP, exists even during childhood and adolescence. These results should be confirmed by using a more accurate measure of AS that can be used in population studies.