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Familial Aggregation of Blood Pressure and the Heritability of Hypertension

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Pediatric Hypertension

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Abstract

Within industrialized, high-income nations, it is evident that a pediatric obesity epidemic has taken place. Part of the transition to an increasing number of children and youth with obesity is elevated blood pressure (BP) (hypertension) during childhood and youth. Hypertension is a well-recognized risk factor for chronic kidney and cardiovascular diseases. Childhood hypertension, which is associated with adulthood hypertension and lifelong cardiovascular events, has been increasing over the past two decades. The tracking of BP from childhood to adulthood has led to a renewed focus on etiology, identification, prevention, diagnosis, and management. Within this emerging public health challenge, it is also acknowledged that genetic factors play an important role in a person’s propensity to develop hypertension. This chapter reviews the history and evolution of the field through the exploration of the familial aggregation of childhood BP. We will consider the genetic factors related to the familial aggregation of childhood BP as well as maternal factors, birth weight, obesity, health behavior influences, and socio-economic features. We conclude the chapter with a brief discussion of promising future research directions for assessing the genetic risk of BP in childhood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Sujane Kandasamy

  2. Division of Nephrology, Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Rahul Chanchlani

Authors
  1. Sujane Kandasamy
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  2. Rahul Chanchlani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rahul Chanchlani .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Nephrology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA

    Joseph T. Flynn

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Julie R. Ingelfinger

  3. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Tammy Brady

Section Editor information

  1. Pediatric Nephrology Unit, MassGeneral Hospital for Children at MGH, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Julie R. Ingelfinger M.D.

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Kandasamy, S., Chanchlani, R. (2022). Familial Aggregation of Blood Pressure and the Heritability of Hypertension. In: Flynn, J.T., Ingelfinger, J.R., Brady, T. (eds) Pediatric Hypertension. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_14-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_14-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31420-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31420-4

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Familial Aggregation of Blood Pressure and the Heritability of Hypertension
    Published:
    08 July 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_14-2

  2. Original

    Heritability and Familial Aggregation of Blood Pressure
    Published:
    03 March 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31420-4_14-1

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