A huge UK study has found more than one in seven adults under 40 already have high blood pressure. Oxford Population Health researchers analysed clinic readings from 1.4 million people in the Our Future Health programme and reported that 15.3 per cent of those aged 18 to 39 met the World Health Organization definition of hypertension.

Almost three in five people with the condition had never been diagnosed. Researchers said the current approach to detecting and treating high blood pressure was not fit for purpose.

High Blood Pressure Under 40s Is Already Common

The analysis, published in BMJ Public Health on 23 September 2026, used measurements taken at enrolment centres in England between 2022 and 2025.

Hypertension was defined as a systolic reading of 140 mmHg or more, a diastolic reading of 90 mmHg or more, or use of blood-pressure-lowering medicine. Overall prevalence stood at 37.2 per cent and rose with age, from 15 per cent among 18- to 39-year-olds to 71 per cent in those aged 80 and over.

After age standardisation, rates were almost 50 per cent higher in men than women, at 42 per cent against 29 per cent. Researchers highlighted the finding because adults under 40 are not routinely invited to the national NHS Health Check programme.

Raised pressure increases the long-term risk of heart attack and stroke even when it produces no symptoms.

Key Facts From the Cohort

  • 1.4 million adults
  • 37 per cent with hypertension
  • 59 per cent of those cases undetected
  • Half of treated patients still above target
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Most Cases Go Undetected or Stay Above Target

Almost three in five people with hypertension, 59 per cent, had never been diagnosed and were not taking medication. Among those already treated, 50 per cent still recorded 140/90 mmHg or higher.

Lead author Wenyu Liu, a medical statistician at Oxford Population Health, said: 'Even among younger adults, who currently aren't eligible for an NHS Health Check, over 15% already had high blood pressure.'

Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, said better detection and treatment could help tens of thousands of people avoid a preventable heart attack and stroke.

The authors argued that aspects of current NICE guidance, including requirements for confirmatory blood-pressure readings and lifestyle advice before drug treatment in some cases, may contribute to missed opportunities for diagnosis and treatment.

NHS Health Checks Leave Younger Adults off the List

The NHS Health Check is offered every five years to people aged 40 to 74 without certain existing conditions. Free pharmacy blood pressure checks in England are likewise aimed at those aged 40 and over.

Adults in their twenties and thirties therefore receive no routine national invitation, despite the study finding substantial prevalence in that group. Iain Turnbull, deputy chief medical officer at Our Future Health and a GP, said many patients remain undetected or sub-optimally treated.

The programme is the UK's largest health research effort and aims to recruit five million volunteers. Pharmacy and GP readings remain available, but the figures show high blood pressure under 40s is already established before the official mid-life screen begins.

High blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the UK and is linked to around half of heart attacks and strokes. The Oxford analysis also found the burden remained substantial across population subgroups, including people with a higher body mass index.

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