Waist to height ratio and elevated blood pressure among children in Taiwan.
OBJECTIVE
To study the association of waist to height ratio (WHtR) and elevated blood pressure (BP) in children.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Six elementary schools in Taipei, Taiwan.


METHODS
All children aged 7 years at first grade.


METHODS
We measured anthropometrics and BP during the regular health examinations among children.


METHODS
Elevated BP in children was defined as an average systolic BP or diastolic BP greater than or equal to the gender, age, and height-percentile-specific 95th percentile BP value.


RESULTS
Among 2,334 eligible school children, the averages of systolic BP and diastolic BP increased with quartiles of WHtR. The prevalence of elevated BP in children among the first quartile of WHtR was 8.8% and increased to 31.2% among the fourth quartile of WHtR (P < 0.0001). Children among the first quartile of WHtR being reference, the adjusted odds ratio of elevated BP for children among the fourth quartile of WHtR was 3.10. The odds ratio of elevated BP with per 0.01 increase of WHtR was 1.11.


CONCLUSIONS
WHtR, simple to measure, is an important factor associated with elevated BP in children.
Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Ta-Liang
TL
Chen
Cheuk-Sing
CS
Choy
Wan-Yu
WY
Chan
Chien-Hsin
CH
Chen
Chien-Chang
CC
Liao
D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D013334:Students; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055105:Waist Circumference