Elevated blood pressure in overweight and obese Irish children.
BACKGROUND
The Irish childhood obesity epidemic, one of the highest ranking internationally, represents a major threat to public health. We sought to perform a retrospective observational study of a clinic based cohort of obese Irish children.


METHODS
Clinical data relating to gender, age, height, weight, body mass index and blood pressure were analysed, from 206 children referred to a paediatric endocrine referral centre over a 15-year period for assessment of obesity.


RESULTS
Younger patients tended to have a higher standardised body mass index at initial presentation; 92% of boys and 96% of girls referred were obese (age-related BMI >/= 95th percentile). Boys (51%) and girls (49%) had initial blood pressure measurements in the hypertensive range. There was a correlation between the degree of obesity and systolic blood pressure, particularly in boys.


CONCLUSIONS
Obese Irish children present with significant long-term health risks, including hypertension at baseline.
Finucane
F M
FM
Metabolic Research Unit, Hospital 5, St James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland. francisfinucane@physicians.ie
Pittock
S
S
Fallon
M
M
Hatunic
M
M
Ong
K
K
Burns
N
N
Costigan
C
C
Murphy
N
N
Nolan
J J
JJ
D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009991:Oscillometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011634:Public Health; D012189:Retrospective Studies