Rates of high blood pressure in children have almost doubled since 2000, with more than one in 20 now affected, new global research shows.

In 2020, 6.2 per cent of under-19s had high blood pressure, compared with 3.2 per cent in 2000.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, now affects 114 million children worldwide, according to an international team including academics from the University of Edinburgh and Zhejiang University in China.

The authors examined data on 443,000 children from 21 countries and found obesity was a substantial driver of the problem.

Nearly 19 per cent of children and adolescents with obesity have high blood pressure, compared with 3 per cent among those with a healthy weight.

In England, one in ten (10.5 per cent) children in the first year of primary school is obese. By the final year, 22.2 per cent are obese, according to the National Child Measurement Programme.

High blood pressure occurs when the force of blood pushing against artery walls is consistently too high, which can damage blood vessels and organs over time.

Co-author Dr Peige Song of Zhejiang University attributed higher rates to unhealthy diets, decreased physical activity and rising childhood obesity.

She said: “The analysis showed that children and adolescents with obesity are nearly eight times more likely to develop hypertension.”

“Parents play a pivotal role in preventing and managing high blood pressure in children.

“Promoting healthy habits, such as a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains while minimising salt and sugar intake, can substantially reduce the risk of hypertension.”

A new tool can estimate Alzheimer’s risk years before memory and thinking problems emerge, offering personalised risk scores long before symptoms.

The research builds on decades of data from one of the world’s most comprehensive population-based studies of brain health.

Mayo Clinic researchers developed the prediction model, which found that women have a higher lifetime risk than men of developing dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) — a transitional stage between healthy ageing and dementia that often affects quality of life but still allows people to live independently.

Men and women with the common genetic variant APOE ε4 also have a higher lifetime risk.

Alzheimer’s disease is marked by two key proteins in the brain: amyloid, which forms plaques between nerve cells, and tau, which forms tangles inside nerve cells. Drugs recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration remove amyloid from the brain and can slow the rate of disease progression for people with MCI or mild dementia.

“What’s exciting now is that we’re looking even earlier — before symptoms begin — to see if we can predict who might be at greatest risk of developing cognitive problems in the future,” said Clifford Jack Jr, radiologist and lead author of the study.

The new prediction model combined several factors, including age, sex, genetic risk associated with APOE genotype, and brain amyloid levels detected on PET scans. Using the data, researchers can calculate an individual’s likelihood of developing MCI or dementia within 10 years or over the predicted lifetime.

Of all the predictors evaluated, brain amyloid levels detected on PET scans had the largest effect on lifetime risk for both MCI and dementia.

“This kind of risk estimate could eventually help people and their doctors decide when to begin therapy or make lifestyle changes that may delay the onset of symptoms. It’s similar to how cholesterol levels help predict heart attack risk,” said Ronald Petersen, neurologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, who is a co-author of the study.

The research draws from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, a long-running effort in Olmsted County, Minnesota, that tracks thousands of residents over time. The analysis for this study included data from 5,858 participants.

Unlike most studies, Mayo researchers are able to continue following participants even after they stop actively taking part, using medical record data — ensuring nearly complete information about who develops cognitive decline or dementia.

“This gives us a uniquely accurate picture of how Alzheimer’s unfolds in the community,” said Terry Therneau, who led the statistical analysis and is the senior author of the study. “We found that the incident rate of dementia was two times greater among the people who dropped out of the study than those who continued to participate.”

The study elevates the significance of MCI, which is the stage targeted by current Alzheimer’s drugs that slow but do not stop progression.

While the new tool is currently a research instrument, it represents a step toward more personalised care. Future versions may incorporate blood-based biomarkers, which could make testing more accessible.

The work was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the GHR Foundation, Gates Ventures and the Alexander Family Foundation.

The research is part of a wider effort at Mayo Clinic, called the Precure initiative, focused on developing tools that help clinicians predict and intercept biological processes before they evolve into disease or progress into complex, hard-to-treat conditions.

“Ultimately, our goal is to give people more time — time to plan, to act and to live well before memory problems take hold,” said Dr Petersen.

A naturally occurring supplement could restore memory loss in Alzheimer’s, a mouse study using human gene mutations suggests.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a molecule vital for energy production, DNA repair and cellular health, often discussed by longevity specialists as a tool against age-related disease.

Researchers have discovered it can protect the brain from degeneration caused by Alzheimer’s disease.

Lead author Dr Alice Ruixue Ai, an Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of Oslo, said: “Preliminary studies have shown that supplementation with NAD+ precursors, such as (NR) or nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), can offer therapeutic benefits in AD [Alzheimer’s disease] animal models and early clinical trials.

“However, the molecular mechanisms behind these benefits remain largely unclear.”

NAD+ naturally declines with age, and it is believed that poor lifestyle choices — including eating a highly processed diet, smoking, drinking alcohol and getting sunburnt — can further diminish the body’s reserves.

The team engineered mice to carry the human Tau P301S mutation that causes neurodegeneration and memory loss.

These mice showed clear memory deficits in a standard behavioural test.

When they gave the mice nicotinamide mononucleotide, a compound that raises NAD+ levels, they found evidence that memory performance returned to normal.

In Alzheimer’s disease, abnormal tau — a misfolded protein that clumps in the brain — is a hallmark of the condition.

The team’s research suggests NAD+ acts through a previously unidentified RNA splicing pathway. RNA carries instructions for building proteins; RNA splicing is the natural editing step that shapes those instructions.

They first saw age-related changes in RNA splicing in a species of worm, then showed that NAD+ could correct splicing problems driven by toxic tau.

Tests in mice indicated this pathway is regulated by a protein called EVA1C, which plays a key role in RNA splicing.

When NAD+ levels rise, EVA1C helps correct splicing errors. This restoration process, involving hundreds of genes, may help reverse damage caused by tau.

Associate professor Evandro Fei Fang-Stavem, said: “Notably, we found when the EVA1C gene was knocked down, these benefits were lost, confirming that EVA1C is essential for NAD+ mediated neuroprotection.

“We propose that maintaining NAD+ levels could help preserve neuronal identity and delay cognitive decline, paving the way for combination treatments to enhance RNA splicing,” added Dr Ai.

NAD+ has gained popularity among longevity enthusiasts and celebrities.

In 2022, Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner discussed NAD+ IV drips in the first series of The Kardashians.

NAD+ infusion treatments are available in the UK at specialised wellness clinics.

There are also NAD+ supplements, kits and at-home injections emerging on the market.

Biohacker and longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson — who is 47 but claims to have the biological markers of a man in his 30s — also includes NMN supplements in his anti-ageing regimen.