The trend of hypertension and its relationship to the weight status among Taiwanese young adolescents

Abstract

This study evaluates prevalence of hypertension in 1996 and 2006, and examines the relationship between hypertension and weight of Taiwanese young adolescents. Two cross-sectional surveys, administered in 1996 and 2006, to junior-high school in Taipei were included. Anthropometric and blood pressure were measured using standard methods, and structured questionnaire was used to collect personal history and lifestyle characteristics. Overweight and obesity are defined based on Taiwan's Department of Health criteria and bases pre-hypertension and hypertension on the 90th and 95th percentile distribution of blood pressure of the population of both surveys. The prevalence of pre-hypertension in Taiwan between 1996 and 2006 increased from 12.0 to 14.4% for boys and decreased from 9.5 to 9.4% for girls. Hypertension increased from 22.8-29.7% and 12.5-20.7% for both boys and girls, respectively. In 1996, compared with normal young adolescents, the risk of hypertension for overweight was 1.8 times higher for boys and 3.4 times for girls. However, the risk of hypertension for overweight in 2006 was 1.7 times higher for boys and 1.5 times higher for girls compared with normal. Every unit increment of body mass index and waist circumference was associated with 17-27% and 6-11% risk of hypertension in both genders in 1996, and was associated with 9-13% and 4% risk of hypertension among young adolescents in 2006, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension has increased significantly in young adolescents, especially for overweight. It is necessary to enrol young adolescents in weight management programs to prevent hypertension-related co-morbidities.

Secular trends in blood pressure in children: A systematic review

“…Some 13 studies were conducted in high‐income countries (Austria, Canada, Germany, two in Greece, Ireland, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and three in the United States), five in middle‐income countries (Turkey, Seychelles, and three in China), and none in low‐income countries . Some 13 studies were school‐based and five were population‐based . The total number of participants was 2 042 470, with a median number per study of 8401 (range: 780–1 010 153).…”

“…In 11 studies, the cuff size was based on arm circumference . In the remaining seven studies, other criteria were used to choose cuff size or only one cuff was available. All BP measurements were taken during a single visit.…”

“…In some studies, one or several items regarding BP measurement methods were not reported. The quality of BP measurement was considered as high in 11 studies (score of 3 or 4) and low in seven studies (score of 1 or 2) . No study had a quality score of 0.…”

Prevalence of High Blood Pressure in 122,053 Adolescents

“…Of these, 55 articles were eligible according to the inclusion criteria established for this review. 9 , 16 , 19 – 21 , 23 , 24 , 29 – 31 , 33 – 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 – 44 , 46 – 52 , 54 , 56 – 62 , 65 – 85 The supplement file presents a description of the 55 articles with the relevant inclusion criteria including: lead author, year of publication, country where the study was performed, year of survey, total number of participants in the study, number of adolescents, proportion of girls, age range, study population, method of measurement, overall and gender-based prevalence, and the respective 95% CI.…”

“…The 95% CI was obtained from the articles 16 – 28 whenever possible, or was calculated using Stata 12.0 “cii” command (95% CI exact for binomial distribution). 29 – 62 …”