Hypertension screening should begin at ages 7-9, then be repeated at ages 13-15, according to new national guidelines published this month.

The guidelines comprise 31 statements adapted from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2017 guidelines, and were developed through a national collaboration between organisations including BPOzKids, Hypertension Australia, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Edith Cowan University.

“The recommendation for an initial screening time point of 7-9 years of age was based on studies of blood pressure tracking and clinical experience that children of this age will typically co-operate with the procedure for accurate blood pressure measurement,” the panel wrote in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The recommendation departs from US advice to start annual blood pressure screening from age three.