Evaluation of school achievements in adolescents with primary hypertension

OBJECTIVE: Primary hypertension (HT) is a global public health problem with increasing prevalence in recent years. HT may have caused decreased neurocognitive functions and learning difficulties. In this study, clinical characteristics of adolescents with primary HT were examined and the relationship between semester grade point average (GPA) and HT was evaluated.
METHODS: This is an observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted on adolescents with primary HT attending high school. Patient records (number of hospital visits, HT-related complaints, blood pressure measurements, and laboratory tests) were evaluated retrospectively. End-of-semester report card grades of Mathematics, Turkish Language and Literature and English courses were noted, and compared with the clinical characteristics of the patients.
RESULTS: The study included 83 patients with a mean age of 15.6±1.2 years. Patients with higher body mass index had lower grades in Mathematics (p=0.007) and Turkish Language and Literature (p=0.004). Patients with HT-related symptoms such as headache, epistaxis and palpitations had lower GPAs for all courses. Also, patients with hyperuricemia or proteinuria had lower semester GPAs compared to patients with normal serum uric acid levels or without proteinuria (p<0.05). GPAs for Mathematics (p=0.000) and Turkish Language and Literature (p=0.006) decrease as the number of hospital visits increases.
CONCLUSION: HT may cause not only cardiovascular complications but also decreased neurocognitive functions through various mechanisms and may have a negative impact on academic skills. Therefore, HT should be followed up with a multidisciplinary approach and intensive efforts should be made to approach the goal of normotension.

Primer hý̇pertansý̇yon tanýlý adölesanlarda okul baþarýsýnýn deðerlendý̇rý̇lmesý̇

Amaç: Primer hipertansiyon (HT) son yýllarda prevalansý artan küresel bir halk saðlýðý sorunudur. HT nörobiliþsel iþlevlerde azalmaya ve öðrenme güçlüklerine neden olabilmektedir. Bu çalýþmada primer HT olan ergenlerin klinik özellikleri incelenmiþ ve dönem sonu not ortalamasý ile HT arasýndaki iliþki deðerlendirilmiþtir.
Yöntem: Bu çalýþma, liseye devam eden primer HT'li ergenler üzerinde yapýlan gözlemsel, kesitsel, tanýmlayýcý bir çalýþmadýr. Hasta kayýtlarý (hastaneye baþvuru sayýsý, HT ile iliþkili þikayetler, kan basýncý ölçümleri ve laboratuvar testleri) retrospektif olarak deðerlendirilmiþtir. Matematik, Türk Dili ve Edebiyatý ve Ýngilizce derslerinin dönem sonu not ortalamalarý not edilmiþ ve hastalarýn klinik özellikleri ile karþýlaþtýrýlmýþtýr.
Bulgular: Çalýþmaya yaþ ortalamasý 15.6±1.2 yýl olan 83 hasta dahil edildi. Vücut kitle indeksi yüksek olan hastalarýn Matematik (p=0.007) ve Türk Dili ve Edebiyatý (p=0.004) ders notlarý daha düþüktü. Baþ aðrýsý, epistaksis ve çarpýntý gibi HT ile iliþkili semptomlarý olan hastalarýn tüm derslerdeki not ortalamalarý daha düþüktü. Ayrýca, hiperürisemi veya proteinürisi olan hastalarýn dönem not ortalamalarý, serum ürik asit düzeyleri normal olan veya proteinürisi olmayan hastalara kýyasla daha düþüktü (p<0,05). Matematik (p=0.000) ve Türk Dili ve Edebiyatý (p=0.006) not ortalamalarý hastane ziyareti sayýsý arttýkça düþmekteydi.
Sonuç: HT sadece kardiyovasküler komplikasyonlara deðil, ayný zamanda çeþitli mekanizmalar yoluyla nörobiliþsel iþlevlerde azalmaya neden olabilir ve akademik beceriler üzerinde olumsuz bir etkiye sahip olabilir. Bu nedenle HT multidisipliner bir yaklaþýmla takip edilmeli ve normotansiyon hedefine yaklaþmak için yoðun çaba sarf edilmelidir. (NCI-2024-4-10)