Hypertension, or high blood pressure, in children seems anomalous. Indeed, it's relatively rare but not unheard of. In the U.S. roughly one in seven children and teens may have high blood pressure or be trending toward it.

That does not bode well for their future health. A new analysis of 37,000 people found that high blood pressure at age 7 is associated with a higher risk of premature death later in life from cardiovascular diseases.

There were limits to the study, but the researchers argued that elevated blood pressure in youth is an early red flag that should be addressed sooner rather than later — to ensure there is a later.

Body of Knowledge

The longest cell in the human body is the neuron (or nerve cell). These cells, particularly the long axons of motor neurons, can stretch from the spinal cord to the tips of toes, approaching 5 feet in length.

Get Me That, Stat!

The global wellness economy (all the industries that enable consumers to incorporate wellness activities and lifestyles into their daily lives) grew to $6.3 trillion in 2023, or a little more than 6% of the global gross domestic product. The wellness economy is larger than the green economy, IT and sports.

Stories for the Waiting Room

It's a health disparity most people never think about until it affects them. According to recent research, nearly 46% of U.S. families don't have enough money to change their children's diapers "as often as necessary."

The need is so great that in one example cited in new research, diapers clinicians at the Upstate Pediatric and Adolescent Center in Syracuse, New York, estimated they've distributed nearly 1 million diapers to needy families.

Inadequate diaper changing can lead to a host of significant health problems, including severe skin and urinary tract infections. Chronic pain and distress from poor diaper hygiene has also been associated with negatively impacting an infant's emotional and cognitive development.

Doc Talk

Barium: What doctors do when patients die

Mania of the Week

Plutomania: An obsession with possessing great wealth or, possibly, minor planets and Disney characters

Best Medicine

Hip consultants are the coolest doctors in hospitals.

Hypochondriac's Guide

Gilbert's syndrome is not a liver disease but does mean that the organ has trouble processing bilirubin, a yellow pigment produced when red blood cells are broken down. It causes no serious health issues, but people may experience mild jaundice during periods of stress, fasting or illness.

Observation

"I'm afraid to see a psychiatrist about the voices in my head. She might know who they are." — Stanley Victor Paskavich

Medical History

This week in 1987, Paul Holc became the youngest person in the world known to have an organ transplant of any kind when he received a new heart at just three hours old. The heart transplant was performed by surgeons at Loma Linda University Medical Center. At birth, Holc weighed six pounds, six and three-quarter ounces, and he suffered from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a fatal heart defect in which the heart's left chamber is missing or atrophied. He was delivered by caesarean section because a donor heart became available from a brain-dead baby in Canada. By the time he celebrated his 10th birthday, hundreds of similar transplants had been performed at Loma Linda. Holc turns 38 this month.

Sum Body

Seven human organs that come in multiples:

1. Adrenal glands

2. Breasts

3. Ears

4. Eyes

5. Gonads

6. Kidneys

7. Lungs

Medical Myths

The influenza vaccine will not give recipients the flu. It is made from inactive viruses. There is potential for the flu vaccine to cause flu-like symptoms for the first two or three days, but this is not the flu. It is your immune system at work. Also, there is potential to contract the flu while your body is building up immunity, which can take up to two weeks after vaccination. If you are exposed to the flu during this two-week period, you could potentially get the flu but not from the actual vaccine itself.

Last Words

"It is not painful, Paetus." — Arria, who was the wife of Aulus Caecina Paetus, a senator in ancient Rome condemned to death for his role in a plot against the emperor Claudius. Aulus was given permission to kill himself rather than be executed but balked. Arria took the proffered knife, stabbed herself first and then handed it to him.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Mufid Majnun at Unsplash