A new modified blood pressure-to-height ratio simplifies the screening of hypertension in Han Chinese children

The present study evaluated the simplicity and accuracy of a new modified blood pressure-to-height ratio (MBPHR3) in identifying hypertension among Han children aged 7-12 years. In 2011, anthropometric measurements were collected as part of a cross-sectional population-based study of 1352 Han children aged 7-12 years. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to assess the accuracy of the modified systolic blood pressure-to-height ratio (MSBPHR3) and the modified diastolic blood pressure-to-height ratio (MDBPHR3) as diagnostic tests for the detection of elevated SBP and DBP, respectively. The accuracies of MSBPHR3 and MDBPHR3 (as assessed by the area under the curve) in identifying elevated SBP and DBP were greater than 0.85 (0.974-0.995). When the MBPHR3 was used to identify hypertensive children, the sensitivity was 100% in boys and 100% in girls. The specificity was 93.8% in boys and 97.1% in girls. In conclusion, the MBPHR3 is a simple, accurate and non-age-dependent index for the screening of hypertension in Han children.