ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BODY FAT DISTRIBUTION AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN NORMAL-WEIGHT CHINESE CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Objective: Body fat distribution is commonly considered as playing a significant role in blood pressure (BP), whether normal-weight children and adolescents whose body fat distribution confer BP risk that remains uncertain. Aim of this study was to assess the associations of body fat distribution with BP risk in normal-weight Chinese children and adolescents. Design and method: A cross-sectional study consisted of 898 normal-weight children and adolescents aged 10–18 years from China. Participants were selected using a cluster sampling method and underwent bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) for body fat distribution indexes. Results: Body fat distribution was related with an increased risk for BP in normal-weight children and adolescents. After adjustment for gender and age, visceral fat level(VFL) was positively associated with abnormal BP (OR:1.109 95%CI, 1.016–1.210; P < 0.05), and the same result also found when including fat mass percentage(FMP; P < 0.05). FMP, VFL and VFL/FMP ratio showed a positively association with abnormal BP in girls after adjustment for age, respectively (OR:1.08; 95%CI, 1.03–1.13; P < 0.01)(OR:1.22; 95%CI, 1.07–1.38; P < 0.01)(OR:1.08; 95%CI, 1.01–1.14; P < 0.05). However, when both FMP and VFL were adjusted for age, FMP but not VFL negatively associated with abnormal BP in boys (OR:0.94; 95%CI,0.88–1.00; P < 0.05), and the same result also found when additional including VFL/FMP ratio in the same model(P < 0.05). Conclusions: The body fat distribution (especially visceral fat) is associated with abnormal BP in normal-weight children and adolescents, especially in girls. Therefore, attention should be paid to the relative effect of body fat distribution (especially visceral fat) on BP in the prevention and treatment of hypertension in youths.