title: Epidemiology of hypertension among a population of school children in Sousse, Tunisia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pediatric hypertension is a field of increasing interest and importance. Early identification of children at risk for hypertension is important to prevent the serious, long-term complications associated with the condition. In Tunisia, there are no data available on the cardiovascular disease risk profile, such as hypertension, in the population of children.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish the prevalence of hypertension, the percentile distribution of blood pressure and the inter-relationships between hypertension and other cardiovascular disease risk factors among school children.
  
  
  METHODS
  An epidemiological survey was conducted based on a representative sample of 1569 urban school children in Sousse, Tunisia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of arterial hypertension was 9.6%, with no significant difference between boys (9.2%) and girls (9.9%). The prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension was 6.4% and 4.5%, respectively. In both boys and girls, systolic pressure had a highly significant positive correlation with height (boys: r=0.33, P<0.001; girls: r=0.08, P=0.02), weight (boys: r=0.47, P < or = 0.001; girls: r=0.35, P<0.001) and triglyceride concentrations (boys: r=0.13, P<0.001; girls: r=0.10, P=0.006). Among boys, a positive correlation was found between systolic blood pressure and age (r=0.12, P=0.001) and, among girls, a negative correlation was found (r=-0.12, P=0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This information will be used to help launch a regional program of heart health promotion in schools.
authors.affiliation: Service of Epidemiology, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia. imed_Harrabi@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Imed
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Harrabi
authors.forename: Anis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belarbia
authors.forename: Rafika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gaha
authors.forename: Ahmed S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Essoussi
authors.forename: Hassen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ghannem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides