According to the national public health survey “health on equal terms” from the Public Health Authority, the proportion of 16–29-year-olds with high blood pressure increased from 2.7 percent to 5.5 percent in 2004 to 2024.
– The fact that we see such a sharp increase in high blood pressure among young adults is very worrying, says Mattias Brunström, physician and researcher at Umeå University.
Even among the population in general, the proportion of high blood pressure has risen in recent decades.
– This is not just a health care problem, but a social problem. We need to work at the community level to make it easy to eat useful and move in everyday life – and we have to start early in life.
Risk of dying prematurely
38 percent of Swedes have high blood pressure, according to a compilation of existing population studies conducted on behalf of the national system for knowledge management health care.
-Research shows that high blood pressure in late teens increase the risk of serious cardiovascular disease later in life and to die prematurely, says Mattias Brunström.
Want young people to measure blood pressure
A similar trend is seen in 30-44 year olds, where the proportion rose from 5.1 percent to 9.6 percent. Blood pressure measurement is crucial to early detection, as high blood pressure often lacks symptoms.
– It is very important that young people even measure blood pressure. Since high blood pressure in itself does not cause any symptoms, blood pressure measurement is the only way to detect it before it leads to a stroke or heart attack, says Mattias Brunström.