MedWire News: Having one or more parents with hypertension increases the lifetime risk for developing the disease, study results suggest.

Experts have long considered family history a risk factor for developing hypertension, yet the specific effects of parental gender and age of diagnosis remain unclear, say lead investigator Dr Nae-Yuh Wang, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and colleagues

It is also unclear if increased risk is constant throughout one's lifetime or greater at specific times.

Dr Wang and team analysed data from 1160 male medical students over a 54-year period. Study participants initially provided information about health and dietary habits, and their parents' history of hypertension and the age at which they were diagnosed. The students' blood pressure, weight, and height were also measured.

After graduation, annual questionnaires and data derived from death records provided ongoing updates on blood pressure and diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.

Study findings showed that having a father with hypertension increased the likelihood of developing high blood pressure 1.5-fold, while having a mother with hypertension increased the likelihood 1.8-fold, and having both parents with hypertension 2.4-fold.

Early-onset of hypertension conferred an even greater risk. Men whose mothers and fathers developed hypertension before 55 years of age had a 6.2-fold greater lifetime risk and a 20-fold greater risk of developing hypertension by age 35 years compared with men with parents with normal blood pressure.

"Our findings emphasize the importance of asking parents about hypertension to identify high risk, especially at a young age," the researchers conclude in the Archives of Internal Medicine. They add that primary prevention and blood pressure monitoring is essential in men with a parent with early-onset hypertension.