Blood Pressure over Height Ratios : Simple and Accurate Method of Detecting Elevated Blood Pressure in Children

Abstract EN

Background.

Blood pressure (BP) percentiles in childhood are assessed according to age, gender, and height.

Objective.

To create a simple BP/height ratio for both systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP).

To study the relationship between BP/height ratios and corresponding BP percentiles in children.

Methods.

We analyzed data on height and BP from 2006-2007 NHANES data.

BP percentiles were calculated for 3775 children.

Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to calculate sensitivity and specificity of BP/height ratios as diagnostic tests for elevated BP (>90%).

Correlation analysis was performed between BP percentiles and BP/height ratios.

Results.

The average age was 12.54 ± 2.67 years.

SBP/height and DBP/height ratios strongly correlated with SBP & DBP percentiles in both boys (P<0.001, R2=0.85, R2=0.86) and girls (P<0.001, R2=0.85, R2=0.90).

The cutoffs of SBP/height and DBP/height ratios in boys were ≥0.75 and ≥0.46, respectively; in girls the ratios were ≥0.75 and ≥0.48, respectively with sensitivity and specificity in range of 83–100%.

Conclusion.

BP/height ratios are simple with high sensitivity and specificity to detect elevated BP in children.

These ratios can be easily used in routine medical care of children.