Determinants of blood pressure distribution in school children

Hypertension (potential risk for cardiovascular diseases) is a major health problem in developed and developing countries affecting approximately one billion individuals worldwide. Many of the risk factors associated with development of hypertension are preventable. Early identification of children at risk for hypertension is important to prevent serious complications. The present study aimed at determining the percentile of systolic blood and diastolic blood pressure and to investigate distribution of blood pressure and its association with anthropometric variables. A cross-sectional study among 701 school children (in the age group of 12-16 years), selected by stratified random sampling was conducted in Aligarh. Personal data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire. Blood pressure, weight and height were measured through standardized techniques and quetelet index was used to determine BMI. The distributions of blood pressure by anthropometric characteristics were examined. Mean, standard deviation, chi square and correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis using SPSS 12 software. High blood pressure was defined as systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure over the 95th percentile. Out of 363 boys, 34 (9.36%) and out of 338 girls, 32 (9.46%) had hypertension with overall prevalence of 66 (9.4%) children. Mean systolic blood and diastolic blood pressure were higher as the range of weight, height and BMI increased and blood pressure of children showed positive correlation with anthropometrics characteristics. It is therefore recommended that the children must be screened regularly for blood pressure to detect the prevalence so that remedial measure may be initiated as early as possible.