In 22 of 28 States, the share of teenage girls (15-19 years) who had normal blood pressure (BP) decreased between 2015-16 and 2019-21, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data. The decrease was more pronounced in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. More importantly, in some States, the decline in the share of teenage girls with normal BP was steeper than the decline among older age groups.
According to the NFHS, BP is considered normal if systolic pressure is lower than 120 mmHg and diastolic pressure is lower than 80 mmHg. Those who had normal BP, because they took medicines to control their BP, were excluded from the analysis. Jammu and Kashmir was not been included in the analysis as the State was bifurcated between the two NFHS periods. Only data for women were considered as fewer men participated in the NFHS than women.
In Chhattisgarh, in 2015-16, 81.9% of teenage girls had normal BP and 67.1% in 2019-21. This was a decrease of 14.8% points, the highest among all the States. In terms of the degree of decline, Maharashtra followed next (13.3% points between 2015-16 and 2019-21). Telangana was the only other State with a double-digit decline. In only six States — Assam, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland and Manipur — did the share of such teenage girls increase.
Though the decrease in the share of teenage girls who had normal BP was more pronounced in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana, the share was high, to begin with in some northeastern States. In Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, only 63% of teenage girls had normal BP in 2019-21 — the lowest in the country. Notably, the situation was better in the southern States where at least 78% of teenage girls had normal BP. Chart 1 shows the share of teenage girls who had normal BP in 2019-21.
Chart 1
The chart shows the share of teenage girls (15-19) who had normal blood pressure in 2019-21
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Overall in India, in 2015-16, 80% of teenage girls had normal BP, which declined to 74% in 2019-21 — a decrease of 6% points. Chart 2 shows the decrease/increase in the share of teenage girls who had normal BP in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16.
Chart 2
The chart shows change in the share of teenage girls (15-19) who had normal blood pressure in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16 (in % points)
More worryingly, in some States, the decline was sharpest among teenagers. Table 3 shows the decrease/increase in the share of girls/women who had normal BP in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16 across various age groups. For instance, in Chhattisgarh, the share of teenage girls with normal BP decreased by 14.8% points, the highest among all the age groups in the State. In Chhattisgarh, not only was the decline among teenagers with normal BP the steepest among all the States but also the sharpest among all the age groups within the State. Similarly, the decline in teenage girls with normal BP was sharpest among all the age groups in Maharashtra, Telangana and Punjab.
Table 3
The tableshows the change in the share of girls/women across various age groups who had normal blood pressure in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16 (in % points)
The absence of normal BP does not necessarily indicate hypertension. If the systolic pressure is in the range of 120-139 mmHg or diastolic pressure is in the range of 80-89 mmHg, it indicates that the person is pre-hypertensive. Chart 4 shows the decrease/increase in the share of teenage girls who were pre-hypertensive in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16. In all the 22 States in which the share of teenage girls who had normal BP decreased, the share of pre-hypertensive girls increased. The increase in the share of pre-hypertensive girls was more pronounced in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Rajasthan than in others. However, only 2.4% of teenage girls were hypertensive (systolic pressure >139 mmHg or diastolic pressure >89 mmHg) in India.
Chart 4
The chart shows the change in the share of pre-hypertensive teenage girls (15-19) in 2019-21 compared to 2015-16 (in % points)
vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in, rebecca.varghese@thehindu.co.in
Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS)- 5, NFHS 4
Also read: Hypertension: a ticking time bomb in Indian adolescents
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