The Risk of Hypertension in Adulthood as a Consequence of Adolescent Obesity

An increased population of overweight and obese adolescents currently exists. Without early intervention, these problems will result in an increasing prevalence of hypertension and risk of death in adults. This study aimed to explain the relationship between being overweight and/or obese in adolescence and having hypertension as adults. The study used the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) data with a retrospective cohort study. Adolescent body mass index (BMI) measurements were taken from 2007 and the risk of hypertension was then measured in 2014. The population was all adolescents aged 10-20 years in 2007. A random sample of 1,697 adolescents was taken from 2007 IFLS data using inclusion criteria, namely biological children and a single birth, children living with biological parents, and children remaining alive until adulthood in 2014. Multivariate analysis used logistic regression. The study found that 8.1% of women and 5.6% of men were overweight and obese. In adulthood, there was a 45.4% incidence of hypertension. Incidence of hypertension for men was higher (67.3%) than for women (26.8%). The multivariate model showed that adolescent BMI affected blood pressure and adult BMI after being controlled for adolescent blood pressure, residential area, and sex. Sex interacts with adolescent BMI. The risk of hypertension in adulthood based on being overweight and obese is three times higher for males and two times higher for females.