To Study the Prevalence and Risk Factors for Prehypertension and Hypertension among Adolescents (18–19 years) at Entry Level of Professional Course.

Aim and Objective: To study the prevalence and risk factors of prehypertension and hypertension among adolescents (18–19 years) at the entry level of professional course. Materials and Methods: After institutional ethics committee approval and informed consent from participants, the data were collected and entered into the Excel sheet. Appropriate statistical analysis was applied. The final result was statistically interpreted. Results: A total of 273 student participants were included in the study. There were 104 males and 169 females. One hundred and seven participants were 18 years old and 168 were 19 years old. Male: female ratio is 1:1.6. Prehypertension was seen in 91 (33.3%) and hypertension was observed in 34 (12.57%). Seven (20.6%) cases had a family history of hypertension. Twenty-two (8.1%) had addictive habits. Inadequate physical activity was seen in 32 (94.1%) of cases who had hypertension. Poor sleep quality was seen in hypertensives (17; 50%). In our study also, there was no statistically significant association between gender and systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (P > 0.05). There is a statistical significance association between the gender and body mass index (BMI) but not between BMI and hypertension status. There was statistically significant association was there between prehypertension and hypertension with habits. Conclusion: Change in habits and dietary modification will have impact on the development of prehypertension and or hypertension among adolescents. More emphasis must be given to screen adolescents at college entry. Adolescents are best target age group for primordial prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]