title: Prevalence of hypertension in 9- to 10-year-old Icelandic school children.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to investigate blood pressure (BP) distribution, prevalence of hypertension, and correlation between BP and body mass index (BMI) in 9- to 10-year-old Icelandic children. Two manual and two automated BP measurements were performed in 1071 Icelandic children. Children with elevated BP underwent a second BP screening, and a third screening was performed if the BP was elevated at the second visit. Hypertension was defined as BP ≥95th percentile at all three visits. White-coat hypertension was diagnosed in hypertensive children with normal 24-hour ambulatory BP. Of 970 children with complete data, 489 were girls (50.4%). The mean BP was 111/63 mm Hg in girls and 112/64 mm Hg in boys (P<.001). The prevalence of elevated BP was 13.1%, 6.0%, and 3.1% after the first, second, and third screen, respectively. The prevalence of sustained hypertension was 2.5% and an additional 0.6% had white-coat hypertension. A significant correlation between BMI and BP was observed (r=0.338, P<.001) and 8.6% of the obese children had hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension in 9- to 10-year-old Icelandic children is lower than indicated in recent reports and is associated with obesity.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
authors.forename: Sandra D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Steinthorsdottir
authors.forename: Sigridur B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Eliasdottir
authors.forename: Olafur S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Indridason
authors.forename: Inger M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Agustsdottir
authors.forename: Runolfur
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palsson
authors.forename: Vidar O
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: Edvardsson
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools; D059466:White Coat Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology