European Network for blood pressure research in children and adolescents

High blood pressure is a clearly established modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular and renal disease. Although most of its adverse effects develop in adulthood, it has become clear that high BP is a lifelong problem that can manifest early in life. While few would dispute the importance of taking effective steps to identify and manage this condition in middle-aged and elderly individuals, relatively little attention has been paid to the problem of high BP in children and adolescents. Therefore, the development of actions focused on early childhood, childhood and adolescence and the investigation of the underlying causes of this epidemic are of utmost importance. There is a pressing need…

2016 - Guías europeas para el manejo de la hipertensión arterial en niños y adolescentes: nuevos conceptos para un viejo problema

2016 – European Society of Hypertension Guidelines for the management of high blood pressure in children and adolescents

Current and birth weights exert independent influences on nocturnal pressure-natriuresis relationships in normotensive children

The objective was to study the impact of birth weight on the relationship between ambulatory blood pressure and urinary sodium excretion in children and adolescents. The study included 134 healthy children (61 boys), all Caucasians, who were born at term after a normotensive pregnancy. For each subject, a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and a complete urine collection were simultaneously performed according to the protocols designed. Average ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and the urinary excretion rates for sodium, potassium, and creatinine were calculated separately for 24-hour, awake, and sleep periods defined by a mini-diary. The excretion rate of sodium during sleep time wa…

Thoracic Aortic Intima-Media Thickness in Preschool Children Born Small for Gestational Age

To assess thoracic aortic intima-media thickness (aIMT) as a marker of thoracic aortic remodeling in children born small for gestational age (SGA).We assessed thoracic aIMT, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in 239 patients (117 SGA; 122 appropriate for gestational age controls) age 6-8 years. Each SGA participant was matched 1:1 based on sex, gestational age, and birth date. Thoracic aIMT was determined by 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography.SGA children showed a significant increase in both aIMT (0.89 mm [0.12] vs 0.79 mm [0.11], P  .001) and cIMT (.50 mm [0.05] vs 0.49 mm [0.04], P  .001) compared with appropriate for gestational age controls, …

Editors’ corner: Anales de Pediatria annual report

(2%), 29 AEP articles (4%), 101 images in paediatrics (15%) and 62 brief reports (9%). This last type of manuscript has been discontinued with the introduction of the new editorial standards and has been replaced by the scientific letters section. The number of manuscripts evaluated in the first four months of 2015 was similar to that for the same period from the previous year. There was an increase in the number of original articles submitted from 34.7% to 42.3%. Invited Editorials written by nationally and internationally recognised experts have increased, whilst letters to the editor have decreased. The rejection rate for 2014 as a whole was 56%, and in the first months of 2015 it rose t…

Scientific mapping of the research output on hypertension in children and adolescents, 2010-2018.

Objective The area of pediatric hypertension (HTN) research has seen substantial progress over the last two decades, but no bibliometric analysis has yet been undertaken to describe these advances. This study aims to describe the published research examining HTN in children and adolescents from 2000 to 2018. Methods Articles were retrieved using PubMed and the Web of Science. Analyses were performed to quantify the evolution of scientific output, identifying the leading journals, authors, and countries as well as the existing collaboration networks. Likewise, we identified the most cited articles, describing their document type, main topic focus, and the age of the patients studied. Results…

Birth weight influences blood pressure values and variability in children and adolescents

The objective of the present study was to assess the relationships between birth weight and the values and variability of ambulatory blood pressure. Six hundred thirty healthy children (369 girls) age 4 to 18 years (mean, 9.9 years) born at term after a normotensive pregnancy were included. The subjects were divided into 5 groups according to birth weight. For each subject, a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed according to the protocol designed. Average and variability (estimated as the standard deviation) of ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate were calculated separately for 24-hour, daytime, and nighttime periods. When values were adjusted for gender, current a…