Premium
Correlates of Blood Pressure in Elementary Schoolchildren
Author(s) -
Melby Christopher L.,
Dunn Patrick J.,
Hyner Gerald C.,
Sedlock Darlene,
Corrigan Donald L.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1987.tb03229.x
Subject(s) - blood pressure , anthropometry , cardiorespiratory fitness , body mass index , physical fitness , medicine , regression analysis , caloric intake , physical therapy , demography , body weight , mathematics , statistics , sociology
This cross‐sectional study determined which anthropometric, dietary, and physical fitness variables were best predictors of blood pressure (BP) in 323 white elementary schoolchildren. Height, weight, triceps, and subscapular skinfold thicknesses were measured, followed by two resting BP measurements. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by time in a one mile run. A food frequency questionnaire measured habitual dietary intake. Correlational analysis revealed height, weight, body mass index (wt/ht 2 ), and skinfold thicknesses were anthropometric variables associated significantly with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Physical fitness was not correlated with BP and, among dietary variables, only estimated daily caloric intake, dietary cholesterol, and nondiscretionary sodium were related to blood pressure. A multiple regression analysis selected weight, body mass index (BMI), and total caloric intake as factors explaining the greatest amount of BP variability. For some individuals, hypertension may originate in childhood, thus, these results could have implications for primary prevention of high blood pressure.