Grant: Operating Grant

High blood pressure (HBP) is an important cause of death and disability worldwide . In children, heart damage from high HBP is already seen. Early child HBP diagnosis and treatment is vital to improve long-term heart health. Even mild HBP may cause organ damage, but it is not clear if all organs are affected or what type of mild HBP is worse. Understanding factors causing HBP in teens is important because they will transfer to adult care. Knowing what signs of HBP organ damage are most important will guide doctors on what tests should be performed. Finally, because we are not able to predict which adolescents will develop HBP, it is unclear who should be followed more closely for HBP and organ damage. We have followed a group of children at risk for obesity and HBP from age 8-10 years: The QUebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth(QUALITY)cohort. We completed 2 visits and have begun our 3rd visit (age 15-17 years). We collect large amounts of social, family, diet, physical fitness, BP, obesity data. We will add a 24-hour BP test (to diagnose the mild HBP), a heart ultrasound to look for HBP heart damage and urine tests to know how HBP affects kidneys. With this study, we will know if 1)children with mild HBP develop signs of HBP organ damage, like adults; 2)children with higher BP have kidney damage; 3)we can improve prediction of which children will have HBP as teens, before going to adult care, using measurements throughout childhood. Knowledge from this study will provide doctors and families with information on which children are at highest risk for having HBP in adolescence, and on how we might be able to prevent HBP and detect it early, to prevent organ damage due to HBP.