Correlates of blood pressure in Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) and non-SDA adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
This comparative study was designed to discover early determinants of systolic (S) and diastolic (D) blood pressure (BP) elevations in 138 Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) and 89 non-SDA male and female adolescents (median age, 17 years) living at three residential secondary schools in North Carolina.


METHODS
Measurements were made of blood pressure, body weight, and height, and information was collected on lifestyle factors, dietary intake, and other behaviors, including exercise, religiosity, Type A behavior, and anger, by questionnaire. Multiple stepwise regression analyses were performed with BP, either SBP or DBP, as the independent variable.


RESULTS
A significant direct association was found only between body weight and BP, but weak associations were shown between BP and other variables, including exercise, diet, religiosity, Type A behavior, and anger. Male and female SDA students showed significantly higher SBPs and DBPs than did non-SDA adolescents though the differences were small (approximately 5 mm for each sex).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that the higher BP values of SDA adolescents, who were all practicing lacto-ovo-vegetarians, compared to similarly aged health-conscious non-SDAs, are determined more by eating behaviors that contribute to gains in body weight than by any other lifestyle variable. Furthermore, these data support the notion that the BP-protective effects of the vegetarian diet may not emerge in these SDA youth until early adulthood.
Kuczmarski
R J
RJ
Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599.
Anderson
J J
JJ
Koch
G G
GG
D000293:Adolescent; D001519:Behavior; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002835:Christianity; D004032:Diet; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012890:Sleep