BLOOD PRESSURE CHANGE WITH AGE IN SALT-SENSITIVE TEENAGERS

Objective To observe blood pressure change with age in salt-sensitive teenagers whose salt sensitivity were determined by repeated testing. Methods Salt sensitivity was determined through intravenous infusion of normal saline combined with volume-depletion by oral diuretic furosemide in 55 teenagers. After five years, salt sensitivity was re-examined and subject blood pressure was followed up. Blood pressure changes in salt-sensitive teenagers were compared to that of non-salt sensitive teenagers over five years. Results After 5 years, the repetition rate of salt sensitivity determined by intravenous saline loading is 92.7%. In teena-gers with salt sensitivity on the baseline, both the systolic blood pressure increments and increment rates were much higher than non-salt sensitive teenagers (12.7±12.1 mmHg vs. 2.8 ±5.2 mmHg, P< 0.01; 12.2% ±12.0% vs. 2.5% ±4.4%, P< 0.001, respectively). There was a similar trend for diastolic blood pressure (8.4 ±6.4 mmHg vs. 3.7 ±6.4 mmHg, P= 0.052; 13.2% ±10.6 % vs. 6.8% ±10.1%, P= 0.053, respectively). Conclusions Salt sensitivity determined by intravenous saline loading showed good reproducibility. Blood pressure increments with age were much higher in salt-sensitive teenagers than non-salt sensitive teenagers, especially in terms of systolic blood pressure.