Influence of puberty on relationships between body composition and blood pressure: a cross-sectional study

Background Fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) are positively associated with blood pressure (BP) in youth. Yet, how puberty, independent of age, affects these relationships remains unclear. Given puberty may be a crucial period for cardiometabolic health, we examined how pubertal development moderates the associations of FM/FFM with BP. Methods Pubertal development, resting BP, and body composition were assessed in a convenience sample of youth (5.5–17 years). General linear models were conducted to assess if pubertal development moderated the relationships between FM/FFM and systolic/diastolic BP standardized for age, sex, and height (SBP z /DBP z ). Results Among participants ( N = 1405; age: M = 13.3 ± 2.9 years; 65.4% female; 53.2% racial/ethnic minority), FM/FFM were positively associated with SBPz and DBPz ( p s ≤ 0.02). Pubertal development moderated the associations between FFM and BP z ( p s ≤ 0.01), but not FM ( p s > 0.43). For early/mid and late pubertal participants, there were positive associations between FFM and BP (DBP z : β s = 0.10–0.18, p s ≤ 0.01; SBP z : β s = 0.33–0.43, p s