Children with hypertension have poorer cognitive abilities than those who are healthy. Cases are expected to multiply with the obesity epidemic.
The obesity epidemic has indirect but heavy repercussions. In France, 3 to 4% of children are severely overweight. This excess weight promotes cardiovascular disease, but also high blood pressure. A study carried out in the United States, where the scale of the phenomenon is major, shows that the consequences do not stop there. From an early age, too high blood pressure is associated with cognitive impairment, concludes the article published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Across the Atlantic, 20% of adolescents are obese. And several studies have shown it: these young people are more at risk of developing high blood pressure. This chronic disease affects 1 in 10 patients. There are many publications on its consequences in adults. The majority note the poorer cognitive performance of those diagnosed. The link is particularly strong when the research focuses on those under 40.
Worse cognitive tests
But what about children, more and more concerned with excess weight? This study suggests that the impact is the same as in adulthood. 75 hypertensive children (10-18 years) and as many healthy children took cognitive tests. They assess visual and verbal memory, speed of analysis and verbal abilities. The results were significantly poorer in young participants whose blood pressure was too high. They still remain within the normal thresholds.
An interesting phenomenon emerges: Children who had trouble sleeping were more likely to have hypertension. This probably helped to increase the effects of sleep deprivation on cognition and executive function.
“In the future, we want to better understand whether physical changes are taking place in the brains of children with hypertension,” says Dr Marc Lande, who coordinated the work. This gain in knowledge would explain the cognitive alterations observed in these patients. It remains to be seen whether the phenomenon is reversible with the help of antihypertensive treatments and whether early action can prevent disorders in adulthood.
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