Hypertension and overweight among Turkish adolescents in a city in Aegean region of Turkey: a strong relationship in a population with a relatively low prevalence of overweight

Abstract

Objective: A school-based survey was performed in 1346 adolescents aged 15-18 years to determine the relationship between "overweight" and hypertension among adolescents in a western city in Turkey with a low prevalence of "overweight".

Methods: The data were collected by a self administered questionnaire. Weight and height of adolescents were measured. US CDC pediatric anthropometric reference data were used to establish the body mass index (BMI) percentile. "At risk of overweight" (BMI-for-age and sex >or=85th, and <95th percentile) and "overweight" (BMI-for-age and sex >or=95th percentile) were defined. Hypertension (systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure that is >or=95th percentile for sex, age and height percentile) was defined according to the 4th Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents (2004). The Chi-square test, Chi-square test for trend and logistic regression models were used for analysis.

Results: Overall, prevalence of "at risk of overweight" and "overweight" were found to be 10.7% and 3.2%, respectively. About 3.5% of the adolescents were hypertensive. After adjustment for sex and age, income, family history of hypertension, the factors positively associated with hypertension were "at risk for overweight" (Odds Ratio [OR] =5.09, 95% CI: 2.57-10.07) and "overweight" (OR=7.60, 95% CI: 2.90-19.89).

Conclusion: The results of this study confirm low hypertension risk among adolescents in Manisa, which may be attributed to the low prevalence of "overweight". The relatively low cardiovascular disease risk factor profile of these adolescents needs to be encouraged through adulthood. Thus, a school program of health promotion should be established to prevent the epidemics of cardiovascular diseases in our region.