Prevalence of high blood pressure and association with obesity in Spanish schoolchildren aged 4–6 years old

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of high blood pressure in children is increasing worldwide, largely, but not entirely, driven by the concurrent childhood obesity epidemic. The aims of this study were to examine the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension in 4-to-6-year-old Spanish schoolchildren, and to evaluate the association between different blood pressure (BP) components with different adiposity indicators.MethodsCross-sectional study including a sample of 1.604 schoolchildren aged 4-to-6-years belonging to 21 schools from the provinces of Ciudad Real and Cuenca, Spain. We measured height, weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass percentage (%FM), triceps skinfold thickness (TST), waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure.ResultsThe estimates of prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension were 12.3% and 18.2%, respectively. In both sexes, adiposity indicators were positively and significantly associated with all BP components (p<0.001), thus schoolchildren in the higher adiposity categories had significantly higher BP levels (p<0.001).ConclusionsOur results show a high prevalence of high blood pressure in Spanish children. Moreover, high levels of adiposity are associated with high blood pressure in early childhood, which support that it could be related to cardiovascular risk later in life.

Elevated Blood Pressure Among Zimbabwean Urban Primary School Children Aged 5–11 Years

“…A finding from this study demonstrates elevated BP among school children which is not a new phenomenon among children in the Southern Africa region. Several similar studies conducted in South Africa, Zambia Nigeria, USA and Spain; [1], [13], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], among children and adolescents and elsewhere [28], [29], [30], [31], [32] have confirmed the presence of hypertension among children and adolescents of similar ages. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for chronic diseases, heart diseases and stroke in adulthood, [4].…”

“…The prevalence of high blood pressure in children is increasing worldwide, largely, but not entirely, driven by the concurrent childhood obesity epidemic [1]. In Zimbabwe blood pressure (BP) measuring is not regularly employed in various health check-up programmes hence studies pertaining to blood pressure of school going Zimbabwean children are still inadequate.…”

“…Studies of children's BP provide important epidemiological information which may help in scheming and modifying coronary risk factors [2]. High BP levels should be associated with this high obesity prevalence estimation [1], high risk of developing of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); including coronary heart disease (CHD), congestive heart failure (CHF), ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, renal failure, and peripheral arterial disease and stroke in adulthood [3], [4], [5]. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to be aware of hypertension and effectively treat it during childhood and adolescence.…”

“…Children and adolescents with blood pressure greater than the 90 th percentile for a given age have roughly a threefold greater likelihood of becoming adults with hypertension compared to those whose blood pressure is at or below the 50th percentile [6]. In addition to are also known to BP levels track from childhood to adulthood [1], and routine pediatric examination and monitoring these levels has consistently lead to the unearthing of a considerable number of children with asymptomatic hypertension HT [7]. Literature reveals that there overweight is strongly associated with elevated BP in children and adolescents and has caused increasingly concern with monitoring arterial BP in children [1], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12].…”

“…In addition to are also known to BP levels track from childhood to adulthood [1], and routine pediatric examination and monitoring these levels has consistently lead to the unearthing of a considerable number of children with asymptomatic hypertension HT [7]. Literature reveals that there overweight is strongly associated with elevated BP in children and adolescents and has caused increasingly concern with monitoring arterial BP in children [1], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]. Environmental and hereditary factors are associated with HT among children and adolescents such as age, gender, height, weight and body mass index, body size and shape, obesity, change in dietary habits and family history of hypertension, decreased physical activity, increased stress, race, ethnicity and socio-economic status influence blood pressure levels in childhood and adulthood [12], [13], [14].…”