WASHINGTON — Almost half of the obese children presenting to one behavioral weight control program had blood pressure in the hypertensive or prehypertensive range, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
Using new National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute criteria for the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure, 29.2% of the 168 children involved in this study were hypertensive and 14.3% were prehypertensive, Monique Higginbotham, M.D., of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said in a poster presentation at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The cross-sectional study enrolled children aged 8–12 years with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 36 kg/m
At initial screening, the children were evaluated for height and weight, and their BMI was calculated. Blood pressure was measured three times at 5-minute intervals during a single visit, using a mercury sphygmomanometer. The mean of the three measurements was used as the final blood pressure.
According to the NHLBI guidelines, hypertension in children is defined as systolic or diastolic blood pressure levels that are at or above the 95th percentile for gender, age, and height. Prehypertension in children is defined as systolic or diastolic blood pressure levels that are at or above the 90th percentile but less than the 95th percentile. Normotensive children have systolic or diastolic blood pressure levels less than the 90th percentile.
Systolic blood pressure correlated positively with BMI. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension did not differ statistically by age, gender, or race/ethnicity.