Perceived stress and blood pressure in early adolescent children

The objective of this investigation was to determine the individual contrib utions of perceived daily, major and total stressors to blood pressure in e arly adolescent children. Toward this goal, cardiovascular risk factors wer e assessed in 74 6th-grade students. Height and body weight, measured in st andard fashion, were used to calculate body mass index (BMI). Waist and hip circumferences and triceps and calf skinfolds were taken to determine the distribution and percentage of body fat, respectively. Seared resting blood pressure was obtained using a mercury sphygmomanometer: The dietary sodium -to-potassium ratio was calculated from a food intake questionnaire. Family history of hypertension was self-reported by participant's parents, and ph ysical activity and perceived stress levels were determined by questionnair e. When added to the hierarchical regression models, the perceived stress v ariables did not significantly predict any additional variance in systolic or diastolic blood pressure in this early adolescent sample. Additionally, bivariate correlations between the stress variables and blood pressure were nonsignificant. The nonpsychological hypertension risk factors accounted f or 25%-35% of the total variance in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Further regression analyses revealed that with the exception of BMI and the sodium-to-potassium ratio, no other risk factors were independent predicto rs of systolic or diastolic blood pressure. Further identification and unde rstanding of environmental precursors of childhood hypertension is recommen ded.