Factors Associated with Pediatric Hypertension in Mexico

Abstract

In Mexico and other Latin American countries, hypertension and other cardiovascular disease risk factors are increasing and have become major public health concerns among all age groups, including children ( 1 Rivera J.A. Barquera S. Campirano F. Epidemiological and nutritional transition in Mexico: Rapid increase of non-communicable chronic diseases and obesity. Public Health Nutr. 2002; 5: 1-11 Google Scholar , 2 Rivera J.A. Barquera S. Gonzalez-Cossio T. Olaiz G. Sepulveda J. Nutrition transition in Mexico and in other Latin American countries. Nutr Rev. 2004; 62: S149-S157 Google Scholar ). Concurrent with these trends, national survey data from Mexico show a dramatic increase in pediatric overweight and obesity, particularly among city-dwelling school-aged children ( 3 Rivera-Dommarco J. Shamah T. Villalpando-Hernández S. González de Cossío T. Hernández-Prado B. Sepúlveda J. Encuesta Nacional de Nutrición 1999: Estado Nutricio en Niños y Mujeres en México. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico2001 Google Scholar , 4 Hernandez B. Cuevas-Nasu L. Shamah-Levy T. Monterrubio E. Ramirez-Silva C. Garcia-Feregrino R. Rivera J. Sepulveda-Amor J. Factors associated with overweight and obesity in Mexican school-aged children: Results from the National Nutrition Survey 1999. Salud Publica Mex. 2003; 45: S551-S557 Google Scholar ). During the last several decades, Mexico has undergone remarkable economic growth, an increase in urbanization, and changes in dietary structure and physical activity level that may compromise the health and nutritional status of the country's most vulnerable population ( 2 Rivera J.A. Barquera S. Gonzalez-Cossio T. Olaiz G. Sepulveda J. Nutrition transition in Mexico and in other Latin American countries. Nutr Rev. 2004; 62: S149-S157 Google Scholar ). The relationship between diet, lifestyle, and anthropometric factors and hypertension risk in Mexico has been greatly understudied, and data are only beginning to emerge about the prevalence of and factors associated with increased blood pressure among youth in Mexico. S. C. Couch is an associate professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. B. E. Saelens is an associate professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle.