Perception about pediatric hypertension

Abstract

Pediatric hypertension is prevalent and it may appear silently in childhood where the diagnosis is based on regular blood pressure measurements, which vary with age, sex, and height. It can progress to adulthood and be associated with potentially severe organ damage, so it is important to be aware of its existence and apply an early intervention. To evaluate the population’s knowledge of the disease, we provided a questionnaire to the caregivers of pediatric patients at the Hospital de Santa Maria and the results were statistically analyzed in order to infer possible associations between sociodemographic variables (age, sex, race, residence, graduation level, and occupation) and theoretical knowledge of the disease. There were significant statistical associations between age, graduation level, and occupation with the knowledge of the possible silent emergence of the disease in childhood, the existence of risk factors, and the age from which the blood pressure should be checked. In this preliminary study, we used an experimental questionnaire. We employed generalized linear models to obtain statistical models. In future research, we will use more elaborate techniques, such as multivariate analysis (factorial analysis, correspondence analysis), as well as other suitable methods for analyzing the data obtained.