Waist circumference and risk of elevated blood pressure in children: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundIncreasing childhood obesity has become a major health threat. This cross-sectional study reports associations between schoolchildren's waist circumference (WC) and risk of elevated blood pressure.MethodsWe measured height, weight, neck and waist circumference, and blood pressure in regular health examinations among children in grade 1 (ages 6-7 years) at six elementary schools in Taipei County, Taiwan. Elevated blood pressure was defined in children found to have mean systolic or diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to the gender-, age-, and height-percentile-specific 95th-percentile blood pressure value.ResultsAll 2,334 schoolchildren were examined (response rate was 100% in the six schools). The mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased as WC quartiles increased (p < 0.0001). The prevalence of elevated blood pressure for boys and girls within the fourth quartile of waist circumference was 38.9% and 26.8%, respectively. In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, the adjusted odds ratios of elevated blood pressure were 1.78 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13-2.80), 2.45 (95% CI = 1.56-3.85), and 6.03 (95% CI = 3.59-10.1) for children in the second, third, and fourth waist circumference quartiles compared with the first quartile. The odds ratios for per-unit increase and per increase of standard deviation associated with elevated blood pressure were 1.14 (95% CI = 1.10-1.18) and 2.22 (95% CI = 1.76-2.78), respectively.ConclusionsElevated blood pressure in children was associated with waist circumference. Not only is waist circumference easier to measure than blood pressure, but it also provides important information on metabolic risk. Further research is needed on effective interventions to identify and monitor children with increased waist circumference to reduce metabolic and blood pressure risks.

Relationship between obesity and pulse pressure in children: results of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) 1988–1994

“…25 In our study, obesity, defined by BMI percentile, was more highly correlated with high PP (defined as being in the 4th quartile), but after multivariable adjustment we found it did not have an independent association of a greater likelihood of having a higher PP suggesting the association is mediated by other factors. However, WC, a measure of central obesity, which is another risk factor for CV disorders, 16-18 was independently associated with a significantly increased likelihood of having a PP in the 4th quartile. Studies by Mehta et al revealed that, although WC and BMI were independent predictors of left ventricular mass index, WC predicted altered left ventricular function better than BMI in children between the ages of 3–19 years.…”

“…12-15 There are several anthropometric measures that help to determine the differences in body fat distribution such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to height ratio, and waist to hip ratio that were shown to have an independent relationship to CV risk factors during childhood. 16-18 However, to date there are no studies that have looked at the association between PP and body fat indices such as obesity based on BMI and WC, a measure of central obesity, in children.…”

Association of waist and hip circumferences with the presence of hypertension and pre-hypertension in young South African adults

“…Furthermore, TBF was modestly related to both systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Indeed Choy et al, 28 showed an association between increased WC and raised blood pressure. Although several studies have shown that a larger HC is protective against HT and metabolic diseases 29,30 , our study showed such protection in males only while larger HC was associated with higher blood pressure in females.…”

Association of Blood Pressure with Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference and its Effects Among School Students (Aged 8-16 Years) of Rural West Bengal, India

“…WC is considered as the most important anthropometric factor associated with the hypertensive risk (Siani et al 2002). (Choy et al 2011). WC correlates better with visceral adipose tissue and is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease than are BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (Okosun et al 1998).…”