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. 2017 Nov 24:4:2333794X17741819.
doi: 10.1177/2333794X17741819. eCollection 2017.

Hypertension in Low-Income Adolescents

D Rose Ewald  1 , Sarah Howle Bond  2 , Lauren A Haldeman  1
Affiliations

Hypertension in Low-Income Adolescents

D Rose Ewald et al. Glob Pediatr Health. .

Abstract

Disadvantaged adolescents are at higher risk for undiagnosed and untreated obesity and hypertension. Using nurse-measured weight, height, and blood pressure (BP) as well as self-reported age and activity/lifestyle behaviors, we assessed the prevalence of obesity and hypertension in 573 adolescent patients aged 13.0 to 17.9 years (females: n = 267, 46.6%; males: n = 306, 53.4%) from a clinic serving low-income, ethnically diverse pediatric patients. Body mass index distribution was as follows: 11, underweight (1.9%); 330, healthy weight (57.6%); 105, overweight (18.3%); and 127, obese (22.2%). The age-adjusted height percentile was normally distributed, but distribution by BP category was 326 normotensive (56.9%), 147 prehypertensive (25.7%), 60 with stage 1 hypertension (10.5%), and 40 with stage 2 hypertension (7.0%). Activity and lifestyle behaviors did not adequately explain obesity and hypertension rates. Efforts to prevent/reduce childhood overweight, obesity, and hypertension in underserved populations need to include dietary education, weight control interventions, and physical activity programs specifically tailored to overweight/obese youth and parents.

Keywords: adolescents; diabetes; hypertension; immigrant youth; metabolic syndrome; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Girls: blood pressure distribution by weight category. Abbreviation: HT, hypertension.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Boys: blood pressure distribution by weight category. Abbreviation: HT, hypertension.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Girls: weight distribution by blood pressure category. Abbreviation: HT, hypertension.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Boys: weight distribution by blood pressure category. Abbreviation: HT, hypertension.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Percentage of girls and boys at each age by blood pressure category.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Percentage of girls and boys at each age by weight classification.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Percentage of girls at each age by class of weight and blood pressure.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Percentage of boys at each age by class of weight and blood pressure.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Duration of daily TV, movie, or DVD watching.
Figure 10.
Figure 10.
Duration of daily video or computer game playing.
Figure 11.
Figure 11.
Duration of sports and physical activity.
Figure 12.
Figure 12.
Frequency of home-cooked meals.
Figure 13.
Figure 13.
Frequency of fast food meals.
Figure 14.
Figure 14.
Frequency of skipped meals.
Figure 15.
Figure 15.
Frequency of soda, sweet tea, punch, or Kool-Aid consumption.
Figure 16.
Figure 16.
Quantity of juice consumption.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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