Treatment of Hypertension Improves Executive Function

Parents reported improvements in executive function in children with hypertension after 1 year of antihypertensive treatment.

Executive function is necessary for problem solving, planning, purposeful goal-directed behavior, vigilance, and working memory. Researchers recently reported that children (age range, 10–18 years) with untreated, newly diagnosed primary hypertension had poorer executive function than normotensive controls (J Pediatr 2009; 154:207). Now, the same researchers examined the effect of 12 months of antihypertensive treatment in 22 (70%) of the hypertensive youth (age range, 13–16 years) enrolled in that study.

At baseline and 12-month follow-up, patients underwent 24-hour blood pressure (BP) monitoring, and their parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). All assessments …

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics