Objective. To provide reference data for ambulatory blood pressure mon
itoring (ABPM) and to determine the influence of age, sex, and race on
these values. Methods. ABPM was performed on 300 healthy, normotensiv
e boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years, including 160 bo
ys and 140 girls, of whom 149 were white and 151 were black. Mean syst
olic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart r
ate (HR) while awake and during sleep were calculated for black and wh
ite boys and girls aged 10 to 12 years, 13 to 15 years, and 16 to 18 y
ears. Results. Boys compared with girls 10 to 12 years of age had high
er mean (+/-SD) SBP (115 +/- 9 vs 112 +/- 9 mm Hg; P <.01) and DBP (67
+/- 7 vs 65 +/- 5 mm Hg; P <.01) while awake. Boys compared to girls
13 to 15 years of age had higher SBP while awake (116 +/- 11 vs 112 +/
- 8 mm Hg; P <.01). Boys compared with girls 16 to 18 years of age had
higher SBP while awake (125 +/- 12 vs 111 +/- 9 mm Hg; P <.01) and du
ring sleep (116 +/- 11 vs 106 +/- 9 mm Hg). Comparisons within sex sho
wed similar changes with age for boys and girls. Blacks compared with
whites 13 to 15 years of age had higher SBP during sleep (109 +/- 11 v
s 105 +/- 10 mm Hg; P <.01), and blacks compared with whites 16 to 18
years of age had higher DBP during sleep (66 +/- 7 vs 58 +/- 6 mm Hg;
P <.01). Comparisons across age groups within race showed that blacks
16 to 18 years of age had higher SBP during sleep than blacks 10 to 12
years of age (109 +/- 11 vs 104 +/- 10 mm Hg), and higher DBP during
sleep (66 +/- 7 mm Hg; P <.01) than blacks 10 to 12 years of age (61 /- 7 mm Hg; P <.01) and 13 to 15 years of age (61 +/- 8; P <.01 mm Hg)
. The changes with age were not significant for white subjects. Conclu
sion. These results provide age-specific reference data for ABPM in yo
uths. These values differ by sex (boys more than girls) and race (Blac
ks more than Whites).