Comparison of ambulatory blood pressure reference standards in children evaluated for hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to systematically compare methods for standardization of blood pressure levels obtained by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in a group of 111 children studied at our institution.


METHODS
Blood pressure indices, blood pressure loads and standard deviation scores were calculated using the original ABPM and the modified reference standards. Bland-Altman plots and kappa statistics for the level of agreement were generated.


RESULTS
Overall, the agreement between the two methods was excellent; however, approximately 5% of children were classified differently by one as compared with the other method.


CONCLUSIONS
Depending on which version of the German Working Group's reference standards is used for interpretation of ABPM data, the classification of the individual as having hypertension or normal blood pressure may vary.
Jones
Deborah P
DP
Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38103, USA. dpjones@utmem.edu
Richey
Phyllis A
PA
Alpert
Bruce S
BS
D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D044469:Racial Groups; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results