Hypertension in Healthy College Students: The Hypertension in Young Adults (HiYA) Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction/Purpose The 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Hypertension Guidelines lowered the threshold for hypertension, and more individuals are likely to be diagnosed with elevated blood pressure (BP; 120–129/<80 mm Hg) or hypertension (stage 1, 130–139/80–89 mm Hg; stage 2, ≥140/90 mm Hg). Prevalence of hypertension in the lower end of the young adult/college-aged group aged 18–24 yr is not well characterized and how the revised guidelines apply to this age group has not yet been studied. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the potential prevalence of hypertension in a population of healthy college students using the 2017 ACC/AHA Hypertension Guidelines. Methods Resting BP was measured in 87 individuals (20.7 ± 1.7 yr, 49 females (F), 38 males (M)) using the auscultatory method according to American Heart Association guidelines. The average of two readings was used. Results Forty-seven (32 F, 15 M) participants had normal (<120/<80 mm Hg) BP. Twenty participants (10 F, 10 M) had elevated BP (systolic BP (SBP), 122.4 ± 2.9; diastolic BP (DBP), 72.8 ± 6.2 mm Hg), and 20 were classified as in either stage 1 (n = 14: 5 F, 9 M; SBP, 125.3 ± 7.1; DBP, 82.7 ± 6.8 mm Hg) or stage 2 (n = 6: 2 F, 4 M; SBP, 141.3 ± 9.8; DBP, 86.2 ± 13.4 mm Hg) hypertension categories. Conclusions Under the 2017 guidelines, 46% of the study population was classified in the elevated BP or hypertensive categories, revealing a much-higher-than-expected potential prevalence in this apparently healthy, physically active population of college students. More educational efforts are needed to promote hypertension awareness among college students.