We know this is a period of great change, between 14 and 18 years of age, as children are growing, hormones are raging and the stability of adulthood has not yet been reached.

It has been difficult to show effects of stress on the development of hypertension because it may be that only a subset of people who show a genetic susceptibility will develop high blood pressure after chronic exposure to stress. Our research shows that effects of different candidate genes on the development of high blood pressure during adolescence depend on the environmental stressors that are present, the gender and the ethnicity, in a group of European American and African American youth that have been followed for 15 years.

We need to know what the genes are to develop new medications and treatments and this shows that at different ages there appear to be different genes.

A substantial part of the individual differences between the twins were due to new genetic effects between this period of age 14 and 18. There are new genes being switched on that are involved in blood pressure and factors underlying blood pressure. I think that is the most interesting finding: the large amount of new genes that come into play.

If we can get children to change their behavior at a young age they hopefully will grow up to be healthy, active adults, which would have a positive effect on health care costs.

Everyone here should live to be a ripe old age and be healthy -- and keep coming to rehab because they need the money.