Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Letter
  • Published:

The influence of socioeconomic status on blood pressure of Indonesian prepubertal children

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 20, pages 546–548 (2006)Cite this article

This cross-sectional study assesses the association between socioeconomic status and blood pressure of school-aged prepubertal children living in Indonesia. It has been shown that elevated blood pressure (BP) contributes to the development of coronary artery disease and to the pathogenesis of cerebrovascular accidents. There is also evidence of some correlations between childhood BP and BP in adulthood.1 In contrast to consistently negative association between socioeconomic status (SES) and BP in industrialized countries, findings in developing countries are heterogeneous.2 The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between nutritional status and SES, defined as rural, poor urban and non-poor urban, and BPs of school-aged prepubertal children living in Indonesia.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in school-aged prepubertal children in two adjacent areas in Central Java, Indonesia. Definitions of rural and urban populations were based on agricultural activities and population densities. Yogyakarta, the urban area, was a city with a population density of 14 988/km2, whereas Gunung Kidul, a rural area located about 20–40 km from Yogyakarta, had a population density of 498/km2.3 In the urban area, the SES of each child was individually deduced from his or her living environment. Children living in the urban slum area were considered poor, and those not living in this area were considered to be not poor.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Bartosh SM, Aronson AJ . Childhood hypertension: an update on etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Pediatr Clin N Am 1999; 46(2): 235–252.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Colhoun HM, Hemingway H, Poulter NR . Socio-economic status and blood pressure: an overview analysis. J Hum Hypertens 1998; 12(2): 91–110.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. BPS-Statistics of D.I. Yogyakarta Province. Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta in Figures 1999. Yogyakarta, Indonesia: BPS-Statistics of DI Yogyakarta Province, 1999.

  4. WHO Technical Report Series. Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry. World Health Organization: Geneva, 1995.

  5. Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Guo SS, Grummer-Strawn LM, Flegal KM, Mei Z et al. 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States: methods and development. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 2002; 11(246): 1–190.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Adair LS, Guilkey DK . Age-specific determinants of stunting in Filipino children. J Nutr 1997; 127: 314–320.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hardy R, Wadsworth MEJ, Langenberg C, Kuh D . Birth weight, childhood growth, and blood pressure at 43 years in a British birth cohort. Int J Epidemiol 2004; 33: 121–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Barker DJP, Forsen T, Eriksson JG, Osmond C . Growth and living conditions in childhood and hypertension in adult life: a longitudinal study. J Hypertens 2002; 20(10): 1951–1956.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mendez MA, Cooper R, Wilks R, Luke A, Forrester T . Income, education, and blood pressure in adults in Jamaica, a middle-income developing country. Int J Epidemiol 2003; 32: 400–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bovet P, Ross AG, Gervasoni JP, Mkamba M, Mtasiwa DM, Langeler C et al. Distribution of blood pressure, body mass index and smoking habits in the urban population of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and associations with socioeconomic status. Int J Epidemiol 2002; 31: 240–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. UNICEF. The state of the world's children 2005. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/sowc05Tables.pdf. Accessed February 12, 2005.

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. A Surjono: Passed away

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

    M Julia & A Surjono

  2. Department of Pediatrics and Research Institute for Clinical and Experimental Neurosciences, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    M M van Weissenbruch & H A Delemarre-van de Waal

Authors
  1. M Julia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M M van Weissenbruch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. H A Delemarre-van de Waal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A Surjono
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M Julia.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Julia, M., van Weissenbruch, M., Delemarre-van de Waal, H. et al. The influence of socioeconomic status on blood pressure of Indonesian prepubertal children. J Hum Hypertens 20, 546–548 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002028

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002028

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links