New study follows the stress and health of the 2,000 young people in ten years

the Proportion of 13-year-old boys with high blood pressure has almost doubled over a ten-year period, according to a study conducted by researchers from Gothenburg. The researchers believe that it may be a sign that the stress has increased in the age group.

Peter Friberg, professor and consultant, is one of the initiators of the current research. He has for many years been thinking about how young people who feel bad physically and mentally to be able to be caught up in an early stage.

" We know that high blood pressure is one of several factors behind disease and death in the adult population. It leads to great suffering of those affected and their families, and large social costs.

" It is so important to see what risk factors and protective factors for ill-health are at a young age. But so far, there have been very few such studies. I hope that the group of researchers I lead can contribute to a better knowledge.

has increased in recent years, and most of the girls. It has, among other things, Folkhälsomyndigheten shown in its regular reports. The proportion of 13 - and 15-year-olds who report mental and physical disorders are about twice as large as in the mid-1980s.

Among the 11-year-old girls, the proportion with multiple psychosomatic disorders in just a few years has risen from 29 percent to 41 percent, while the rate among boys has risen from 20% to 30%.

– No one seems to know how it is. Folkhälsomyndigheten have pointed out the increased school stress can as a cause and came to the conclusion that the Swedish school system works worse after the 1990s, major changes, " says Peter Friberg.

Students who are physically active at least 60 minutes every day are less stressed than those who do not move as much. And girls are more stressed than their peers boys.

In the discussion on the reasons for the increase have pointed out that younger generations today are more open with their emotions, and are better able to identify and tell you about their symptoms, which can be a part of the declaration

Sweden's municipalities and county councils (SKL) is Ing-Marie Wieselgren psykiatrisamordnare. Earlier in the week, she claimed in the Swedish tv-News that young people today sleep, eat, and exercise too little. It can be an explanation for the queues to the child - youth psychiatry (bup) has increased.

What are the effects of young people's poorer health can get in the long term hope Peter Friberg and his colleagues to find the answer to. Their research project on the life conditions, stress and health, 2.100 students in grade 7 from the fifty schools in the Western Region.

Read more about the stress

the Students have to answer a questionnaire on, inter alia, his family history, mental health, stress, etc. They have also gone through a series of physical examinations. It is about to measure and record, for example, possible overweight, and blood pressure.

The first results suggest that students who are physically active at least 60 minutes every day are less stressed than those who do not move as much. The feeling of well-being, good relationships, close friends and good atmosphere in the school has also a great impact on the stress level.

that girls are more stressed than their peers boys. And to the young people who come from families with lower socio-economic status, where the parents have lower education and are not earning as good, also experience more stress.

Mental health may give rise to symptoms such as obesity and high blood pressure. The research group in Gothenburg has as mentioned been able to show that the proportion of 13-year-old boys with high blood pressure increased significantly in comparison with a previous smaller study. In the figures from 7.8 percent to 15.1 percent between the years 2005 and 2015.

Peter Friberg, professor and chief physician in Gothenburg, sweden, is one of the initiators of the research on how young people feel. Photo: NTB/TT

" It is alarming because previous research indicates that approximately six out of ten people with high blood pressure as teenagers continue to have it as adults. The cost to treat livsstilsjukdomarna increasing from year to year and it must be better to put in preventive measures at an early age, " says Peter Friberg.

he worked for a time on the famous children's hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital/Institute of Child Health in London. Then he realized how important it is to work just prevention with young people.

– Adult health can be influenced by smoking, alcohol ... yes, a more unhealthy lifestyle at all. Children are not yet affected in the same way. But being overweight and high blood pressure in early life are risk factors for poorer health in adulthood, " says Peter Friberg.

In Bristol has approximately 1.000.000 children followed for a longer period of time to see how their physical and mental health developed. Also in Finland there is a project where young people have been studied since the 1980s. But in Sweden it is lacking such studies.

– In our project we want to look at how a group of 13-year-olds mental and physical health is affected over time. It is about the study of the interactions between the body and the soul.

We need to research, measure, evaluate and follow up so that we understand what works, for example, to reduce stress in children and young people.

the Students included in the study will be followed up after two, five and ten years. The idea is to see how their health develops over time – and to get the facts about factors that increase the risk of disease and the factors that can constitute a protection.

the measurement of blood pressure and blood vessel elasticity, the levels of the stress hormone cortisol measured in hair to give a picture of chronic stress and strain. The samples are now waiting to be analysed.

Approximately 1,800 students have also been equipped with a so-called Aactigraph that shows how much they move during a week. The part of the project is done in collaboration with GIH, Gymnastics and national artists, in Stockholm, sweden.

Read more on mental health

Peter Friberg tells us that poor mental health is estimated to cost the global economy around 145.000 billion between the years 2010 and 2030. According to the Swedish work environment authority is a public cost for sickness absence due to mental ill-health of close to 80 billion per year.

– And then you have not priced the suffering of mental illness creates for the sufferers and their relatives. The preventive measures must be the best way to bring down costs and reduce suffering, " says Peter Friberg.

the scientific community, school, student health, the authorities and politicians need to focus more on preventive work to prevent the development of mental ill-health among emerging adults. He mentions that 75% of people with mental ill-health are affected before the age of 24.

" We need to research, measure, evaluate and follow up so that we understand what works, for example, to reduce stress in children and young people.

Peter Friberg is a professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Gothenburg and consultant at Sahlgrenska university Hospital. He also works at SIGHT, the Swedish institute for global health transformation, at the Royal Swedish academy of Sciences in Stockholm.