30 Dec 2025 • Sustained exposure to elevated blood pressure in childhood markedly increased the risk of hypertension decades later, a 38-year Finnish study showed.

Tracking more than 3,500 individuals from ages 3–18 into mid-adulthood, researchers found strong correlations between childhood and adult blood pressure. Compared with those in the lowest exposure quartile, long-term risk of hypertension was nearly fourfold higher in women (HR 3.85) and more than doubled in men (HR 2.66). Associations persisted into ages 40–58 years.

The findings underscore that cumulative blood pressure burden, rather than isolated childhood readings, drives lifetime hypertension risk and supports early, sustained monitoring and preventive intervention.

Source: AHA Journal | Read full story