Prevalence of High Blood Pressure in Young People: Survey in Algeria

Objective: Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Hypertension accounts for (13%) of overall mortality. Since it is not accompanied by any signs, arterial hypertension is often unrecognized in young people and its incidence in the age group under 30 years is increasing. Globally, the prevalence of hypertension is estimated to be 13% in males and 7% in females, aged 20 to 29 years. In Algeria, the prevalence among young people aged 18 to 29 is 8.5%. The objectives of our study were the screening of high blood pressure in healthy young people under 30 years old, using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Design and method: This is a multicentric cross-sectional analytical study involving 500 individuals, started in April 2018 until May 2021, in western Algeria. Screening for this pathology is based on ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Statistical analysis was performed by Epi Info software version 7.2.6. Results: Over the entire sample, we identified 9% (n: 45) hypertensive, including 2.5% nocturnal hypertension and 2% masked hypertension, the prevalence of white coat hypertension was 4.8%. Systolic blood pressure 2.2%, diastolic 2.2% and systolic-diastolic 1%. Mean SBP was 116.34 mmHg Mean DBP was 66.86 mmHg. Conclusions: We were able to develop an epidemiological database that can be the starting point for multicenter studies to estimate the prevalence of hypertension in young adults at the national level. the establishment of an Algerian electronic platform for ABPM under the aegis of learned societies to better assess this pathology as well as its consequences.