Background: Arterial hypertension (AH) is a health problem that affects a large number of undiagnosed or inadequately treated hypertensive individuals and presents a high rate of treatment nonadherence.

ABSTRACT:Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of overweight in adolescents and its associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study in public and private schools in Goiania, Brazil. Socioeconomic status, family history of obesity, lifestyle, blood pressure and Body Mass Index were studied in a sample of 1,169 Brazilian youth aged 12 -18 years, who attended public and private schools. Data were obtained from a questionnaire and anthropometric measurements previously tested in a pilot study. Poisson regression was used to estimate the prevalence of overweight, prevalence ratios and associations with the other factors. Results: The prevalence of overweight was 21.2%, with a significant difference between boys and girls (26.3 and 16.8% respectively). Regression analysis showed that maternal obesity was associated with a higher prevalence of overweight in boys (PR = 1.86; p = 0.004), and boys aged 15 -18 years had a lower prevalence of overweight than boys aged 12 -14 years (PR = 0.70; p = 0.021). Among the girls, the presence of obese parents was associated with higher prevalence of overweight (PR = 2.42; p < 0.001), and the girls from a C class socioeconomic position were negatively associated with overweight (PR = 0.67; p = 0.035). Conclusions: Overweight in adolescence is associated with gender, obesity family history, and socioeconomic position. These data should be considered when planning intervention programs.

BackgroundAdolescence is a transition stage between childhood and adulthood and is an important phase for the acquisition of future lifestyles, including the practice of physical activity (PA). The prevalence of sedentary lifestyle in adolescents is often high, creating the need for studies addressing the practice of PA and its associated factors for a better understanding of the phenomenon and possible interventions that would encourage positive changes.MethodsCross-sectional study of a representative sample of students aged 14–18 years enrolled in both public and private schools of a large Brazilian city to determine the level of physical activity (PA) and its associated factors. Sedentary lifestyle was measured by applying the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The independent variables were gender, age, race, tobacco use and alcohol consumption in the past 30 days, socioeconomic status, body mass index, waist circumference and blood pressure. The crude prevalence ratio was used as a measure of association and was estimated from a Poisson regression.ResultsThe sample consisted of 862 adolescents with a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.1 years. Females were predominant (52.8%), and the age between 14 and 15 years was the most frequent (52.2%). The majority of the group reported themselves as Caucasians (51.2%), belonging to socioeconomic class C (52.5%) and were attending to public schools (69.1%). The prevalence of sedentary lifestyle was 66.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.5–69.9), where values of 65.4% and 69.9% were observed among students from public and private schools, respectively (p = 0.196). Sedentary lifestyle was more frequent in females (78.0% vs 54.3%; p < 0.001). The factor directly associated with sedentary lifestyle was female gender both in public and private schools and the only independent variable related to sedentarism was also female gender.ConclusionThe prevalence of sedentary lifestyle was extremely high in the population of adolescents studied both in public and private schools. Female sex was directly associated with sedentary lifestyle.

BackgroundBlood pressure is directly related to body mass index, and individuals with increased waist circumference have higher risk of developing hypertension, insulin resistance, and other metabolic changes, since adolescence.Objectiveto evaluate the correlation of blood pressure with insulin resistance, waist circumference and body mass index in adolescents.MethodsCross-section study on a representative sample of adolescent students. One group of adolescents with altered blood pressure detected by casual blood pressure and/or home blood pressure monitoring (blood pressure > 90th percentile) and one group of normotensive adolescents were studied. Body mass index, waist circumference were measured, and fasting glucose and plasma insulin levels were determined, using the HOMA-IR index to identify insulin resistance.ResultsA total of 162 adolescents (35 with normal blood pressure and 127 with altered blood pressure) were studied; 61% (n = 99) of them were boys and the mean age was 14.9 ± 1.62 years. Thirty-eight (23.5%) adolescents had altered HOMA-IR. The group with altered blood pressure had higher values of waist circumference, body mass index and HOMA-IR (p<0.05). Waist circumference was higher among boys in both groups (p<0.05) and girls with altered blood pressure had higher HOMA-IR than boys (p<0.05). There was a significant moderate correlation between body mass index and HOMA-IR in the group with altered blood pressure (ρ = 0.394; p < 0.001), and such correlation was stronger than in the normotensive group. There was also a significant moderate correlation between waist circumference and HOMA-IR in both groups (ρ = 0.345; p < 0.05). Logistic regression showed that HOMA-IR was as predictor of altered blood pressure (odds ratio - OR = 2.0; p = 0.001).ConclusionThere was a significant association of insulin resistance with blood pressure and the impact of insulin resistance on blood pressure since childhood. The correlation and association between markers of cardiovascular diseases was more pronounced in adolescents with altered blood pressure, suggesting that primary prevention strategies for cardiovascular risk factors should be early implemented in childhood and adolescence.

Objective. Estimate the prevalence of Hypertension in adults and its association with the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Circumference (WC). MethOds. It is a descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study, population-based, with simple random sample (≥18 years old). 1,168 individuals were investigated. Standardized questionnaires. Arterial pressure measures (criterion: HA ≥ 140x90mmHg), weight, height and waist circumference were taken. Data were stored (Microsoft Access software) and analyzed with the Epi-info, 3.3.2. Results. Dominance of the female sex (63.2%), medium age of 43.2 ± 14.9 years. Prevalence of arterial hypertension of 32.7%, tending to be higher among men (35.8%) than women (30.9%) (p=0.084). Positive association (p<0.001) of hypertension with age, BMI, and WC. Overweight prevalence of 33.7% and obesity of 16.0%. Overweight was higher in men, and obesity in women. Prevalence of enlarged and very enlarged WC in 51.9% of the population studied, 28.6% among men, and 65.5% among women. cOnclusiOn. A high prevalence of hypertension and a big number of individuals with BMI and WC over ideal values were found. Keywords

Reference values for home BP by height percentiles for age and sex in a non-European population of adolescents are provided.

Multiple cardiovascular risk factors are directly related to the severity of atherosclerosis, even in children and adolescents. In this context accurate assessment of risk factors at the individual level play a decisive role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, the frequency of their coexistence in individuals, and identify possible determinants associated with this coexistence in Brazilian adolescents. A cross-sectional study with 1170 students (12–17 years) from public and private schools of a large city was conducted. In addition to family history, modifiable cardiovascular risk factors were assessed including: tobacco use, alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, overweight/obesity, increased waist circumference, and high blood pressure (office and home). We built a linear regression model to identify determinants associated with increasing number of modifiable risk factors. Mean study population age was 14.7±1.6 years, 67% were enrolled in public schools and 33% in private ones. The majority of the adolescents had at least two risk factors (68.9%), more than 10% had more than 4 risk factors, and in only 6.7% of the sample no risk factor was identified. Family history of CVD (β-coefficient = 1.20; 95%CI 1.07–1.34; p<0.001), increasing age (β-coefficient = 0.08; 95%CI 0.04–0.11; p<0.001), and being enrolled in private schools (β-coefficient = 0.16; 95%CI 0.02–0.30; p = 0.023) were directly associated with the modifiable CV risk factors. In conclusion, the prevalence of multiple cardiovascular risk factors was high in the population of adolescents studied. School based interventions should be addressed to change this scenario.

No abstract