D. Paulus et al., Blood pressure during adolescence: A study among Belgian adolescents selected from a high cardiovascular risk population, EUR J EPID, 15(9), 1999, pp. 783-790
Citations number
49
Categorie Soggetti
Envirnomentale Medicine & Public Health","Medical Research General Topics
Introduction: the Belgian province of Luxembourg has a high incidence of ca
rdiovascular (CV) disease according to the MONICA register. Surveys conduct
ed in adults and children have also found high CV risk factor levels in thi
s province. Design: cross-sectional study. Objective of the present study:
to collect data about blood pressure (BP) and its determinants in adolescen
ts from this high CV risk population and to analyse their relationship. Par
ticipants: 1526 adolescents (12-17 years) in 24 secondary schools of the pr
ovince. Results: mean systolic BP levels were 125 mm Hg (sd = 12 mm Hg) and
122 mm Hg (sd = 11 mm Hg) for boys and girls, respectively. Mean diastolic
BP was equal to 74 mm Hg (sd = 10 mm Hg) in both genders. Systolic BP incr
eased with age and differed significantly between genders from 15 years onw
ards. Body fatness indices increased with age except waist-to-hip ratio in
girls and triceps skinfold in boys. Regression models including age, anthro
pometric indices and physical activity explained a small percentage of BP v
ariance (for systolic BP, r(2) = 0.21 and 0.12 for boys and girls, respecti
vely). Weight was the first parameter related to BP in correlation and regr
ession analyses. Conclusions: this study showed high BP and body fatness in
dices in adolescents from a high CV risk population. The model under study
showed a moderate relationship between body fatness and BP. This finding su
ggests other influences as a genetic component to account for the high leve
ls observed.