Association between adiposity and blood pressure levels between the ages of 6 and 16 years. Analysis in a student population from Madrid, Spain.
OBJECTIVE
The increase in the incidence of hypertension in children can be attributed to the rising prevalence of obesity. The objective is to analyze the impact of overweight and the degree or distribution of adiposity on blood pressure levels in a population of Spanish schoolchildren.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was carried out in 1511 schoolchildren between 6 years and 16 years of age. We measured weight, height, waist circumference, subcutaneous skinfolds, and blood pressure. Nutritional categories were established on the basis of body mass index, waist-to-height ratio, and percent body fat. According to the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group, subjects whose blood pressure was above the 90th percentile of the standard normal distribution were considered to have high blood pressure.


RESULTS
In all, 3.17% of the boys and 3.05% of the girls had high blood pressure. According to odds ratio analysis, the risk of high blood pressure increased in individuals with a body mass index indicative of obesity (7.87-fold in boys, 12.32-fold in girls), with a percent body fat>97th percentile (6.98-fold in boys, 18.51-fold in girls), or with a waist-to-height ratio ≥0.5 (10.56-fold in boys, 7.82-fold in girls).


CONCLUSIONS
Overweight and obesity increase the risk of high blood pressure in children between 6 years and 16 years of age, although the risk level varies depending on the amount and distribution of adipose tissue. Anthropometric indicators of relative adiposity and fat distribution are especially useful in the identification of children and adolescents with high blood pressure.
Grupo de Investigación EPINUT-UCM, Madrid, Spain; Sociedad Española de Dietética y Ciencias de la Alimentación (SEDCA), Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: marrodan@bio.ucm.es.
M Dolores
MD
Marrodán Serrano
Grupo de Investigación EPINUT-UCM, Madrid, Spain.
M Dolores
MD
Cabañas Armesilla
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
M Margarita
MM
Carmenate Moreno
Grupo de Investigación EPINUT-UCM, Madrid, Spain.
Marisa
M
González-Montero de Espinosa
Grupo de Investigación EPINUT-UCM, Madrid, Spain.
Noemí
N
López-Ejeda
Grupo de Investigación EPINUT-UCM, Madrid, Spain; Sociedad Española de Dietética y Ciencias de la Alimentación (SEDCA), Madrid, Spain.
Jesús R
JR
Martínez Álvarez
Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Consuelo
C
Prado Martínez
Grupo de Investigación EPINUT-UCM, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; DeporClinic, Clínica de Medicina Deportiva y Fisioterapia, Coslada, Madrid, Spain.
Juan F
JF
Romero-Collazos
D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001823:Body Composition; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain; D013334:Students