Emotional stress as a risk factor of arterial hypertension in adolescents with obesity

The objective was to investigate the possible influence of emotional stress on the risk of hypertension and to evaluate its interaction with other risk factors in obese adolescents. Material and methods. One hundred adolescents aged 12–17 years (mean age 13.9±2.2 years, 53 boys, 47 girls) with diagnosed constitutional-exogenous obesity (ICD-10 code: E66.0) were examined. The examination included the identification of arterial hypertension (AH) in accordance with accepted criteria. Adolescents were asked to fill out the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ), designed to identify potential stressors and the level ofstress in various areas of the adolescent’s life and overall. Results. Hypertension was diagnosed in 18% of adolescents, and as the degree of obesity increased, the frequency of hypertension statistically significantly increased. The maximum manifestations ofstress in adolescents were associated with attending school, peer pressure, and uncertainty about the future. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis revealed that the body mass index z-score at the time of examination, the overall severity of stress, and the age of patients at the time of examination had significant independent influences on the risk of hypertension, with the risk of hypertension increasing with higher values of these indicators. No significant association was found between the risk of hypertension and the gender of adolescents, the age of onset of excessive weight gain, and weight gain over the past year. Conclusions. Emotional stress in adolescents with obesity is an independent additional risk factor for the development of hypertension. Psychological diagnosis and stress management should be one of the aspects ofreducing the risk of hypertension in adolescents with obesity.