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Home and office blood pressure in children and adolescents: the role of obesity. The Arsakeion School Study

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 23, pages 512–520 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Obesity is related to office blood pressure (OBP). Important discrepancies exist between OBP and home blood pressure (HBP), providing complementary information for the management of hypertension. The association between obesity and HBP has not been investigated in children. The evidence on the role of obesity in the predominance of systolic blood pressure (SBP) over diastolic (DBP) in paediatric hypertension is limited. A total of 778 healthy subjects aged 6–18 years were recruited in this study. OBP and HBP were measured using electronic devices validated in children. Anthropometric measurements were measured and expressed as z-scores for height or age. Among all indices of obesity (z-scores), body mass index (BMI) showed the best association with BP. The effect of obesity (BMI) was more pronounced on: (i) SBP than DBP and (ii) H-SBP than O-SBP (O-SBP: r2=0.09, O-DBP: r2=0.05, H-SBP: r2=0.12, H-DBP: r2=0.06). The prevalence of systolic hypertension was higher than that of diastolic hypertension. This difference was significant only in office readings and independent from obesity (normal weight: 6.3% systolic hypertension versus 1.2% diastolic; obese: 37.9% versus 6.9%, P<0.05 for both). These data imply that in children and adolescents the z-score of BMI is the most appropriate index of the association between BP and obesity. It also suggests that obesity is probably more closely associated with home than office BP. Finally, although obesity appears to affect SBP more than DBP, these results suggest that the predominance of systolic hypertension in children and adolescents might not be only related to obesity but also to the measurement setting (office).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece

    K Karatzi

  2. Third University Department of Medicine, Hypertension Center, Sotiria Hospital, Athens, Greece

    A Protogerou, V Rarra & G S Stergiou

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  1. K Karatzi
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  4. G S Stergiou
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Correspondence to G S Stergiou.

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Karatzi, K., Protogerou, A., Rarra, V. et al. Home and office blood pressure in children and adolescents: the role of obesity. The Arsakeion School Study. J Hum Hypertens 23, 512–520 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2008.158

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