Blood pressure profile and prevalence of hypertension in primary school children in Basra city center

Abstract EN

Objective : The prevalence and rate of diagnosis of hypertension in children and adolescents appear to be increasing, this is due in part to the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity as well as growing awareness of this disease.

The aim of this study was to assess blood pressure profile and prevalence of hypertension in primary school children in Basra City Center.

Methods : A cross sectional study was conducted on 1010 (48 % boys and 52 % girls) students aged (8-12 years) selected from ten primary schools in Basra city center during the period from December 2007 till April 2008 ; to elucidate blood pressure level and the prevalence of hypertension as well as to address some epidemiological variables which contribute to blood pressure.

The blood pressure was measured on at least three separated occasions using standardized sphygmomanometers with appropriate cuff size.

Weight and height of all children were measured and body mass index was calculated.

Results : For both genders, the combined mean ± SD systolic and diastolic blood pressure were recorded in three visits (109.2, 105.3, 104.9 mm.Hg) and (68.5, 65.4, 63.6 mm.Hg) respectively.

The prevalence rate of pre-hypertension and hypertension was 3.07 % and obesity was reported in 10.9 % of studied children.

There was a significant statistical correlation between hypertension and increasing body mass index, family history of hypertension, parental consanguinity, feeding history during first six months of life and advance maternal age during pregnancy.

There was no significant statistical correlation between hypertension with child age, gender.

Conclusions : Early detection of children with hypertension is potentially beneficial because of increasing prevalence of hypertension, and later on preventing it’s the long-term complications.