Higher Risk Of Elevated Blood Pressure Research Articles

A Nonlinear Relation Between Maternal Red Blood Cell Manganese Concentrations and Child Blood Pressure at Age 6–12 y: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study

BackgroundAlthough manganese (Mn) is an essential trace element and a common component of most multivitamins on the market, an adverse effect on blood pressure (BP) has been reported in adults. In addition, the longitudinal relation between prenatal Mn status and childhood BP is still unknown. ObjectiveThis study investigated the association between prenatal Mn concentrations and risk of elevated BP at ages 3–12 y. MethodThe analyses included 1268 mother-child dyads who were enrolled at birth and followed prospectively at the Boston Medical Center. Maternal RBC Mn concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, using RBCs collected within 1–3 d after delivery (reflecting late-pregnancy Mn exposure). Child elevated BP was defined as systolic or diastolic BP ≥90th percentile for a given age, sex and height. Multivariate logistic regression models were conducted. Path analysis was applied to mediation estimation. ResultsThe median (IQR) maternal RBC Mn concentration was 37.5 (29.2–48.5) μg/L. The rate of child elevated BP at ages 3–12 y was 25%. Both the lowest and highest quartiles of maternal RBC Mn concentrations were associated with higher risk of elevated BP among children aged 6–12 y (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.21 and OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.13, 2.40, respectively) compared with those in the second and third quartiles. Gestational age and fetal growth mediated the association between low maternal RBC Mn (first quartile) and child elevated BP, explaining 25% of the association, but not for high (fourth quartile) maternal RBC Mn concentrations. No association was found between maternal RBC Mn concentrations and BP among children aged 3–5 y. ConclusionWe found a nonlinear association between maternal RBC Mn concentrations and elevated BP among children aged 6–12 y from a high-risk, predominantly minority population. Our findings warrant further investigation.

Hypertension Editors' Picks: Air Pollution.

Hypertension Editors' Picks: Air Pollution.

Validity of anthropometric indices in predicting high blood pressure risk factors in Iranian children and adolescents: CASPIAN-V study.

Anthropometric indices have been used as indicators for predicting hypertension (HTN) in children and adolescents but it is not clear which anthropometric measures are a better index for identifying elevated blood pressure (EBP) risk factors in pediatric population. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), weight-height ratio (WHR), a body shape index (ABSI) and blood pressure were measured in 14008 children and adolescents aged 7-18years in a national school-aged survey CASPIN V. Hypertension (HTN) was defined according to the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, using the 95th percentile. The predictive power of anthropometric indices for HTN risk factors was examined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to compare areas under ROC curves (AUCs) among the four anthropometric indices. BMI, WC, WHR, and ABSI were significantly higher in adolescents than in children. EBP was more prevalent in boys (7.2%) than girls (5.5%), whereas the prevalence of HTN was higher in girls (11.3%) than boys 10.4%. Prevalence odds ratio was around 2 for BMI, WC, and WHR with AUCs scores of nearly 0.6 to predict EBP in both children and adolescents of both sexes. Thus, the ability of BMI z-score, WC, WHR or ASBI to identify Iranian children and adolescents at higher risk of EBP was week. WC, WHR or ASBI in combination with BMI did not improve predictive power to identify subjects at higher risk of EBP.

Bedtimes and Blood Pressure: A Prospective Cohort Study of Mexican Adolescents.

Hypertension affects up to 5% of children worldwide and predicts later cardiovascular morbidity. Associations of short sleep and hypertension have been frequently reported in adults but less consistently in children. This study aims to examine the role of late bedtimes, a marker of short sleep duration, and potentially misaligned circadian rhythms, on incident elevated blood pressure (BP) in a large cohort of Mexican children. Participants included 2,033 adolescents recruited from public schools in Morelos, Mexico, free from elevated BP (<90th sex, age, and height-standardized percentile). Fourteen months later, all adolescents had a second BP assessment. We abstracted baseline habitual bedtimes from questionnaires to evaluate the association between bedtime and elevated BP incidence (≥90th percentile). Risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated with discrete-time mixed survival models, adjusting for potential confounders and accounting for clustering by school. Participants were 12.5 (SD = 0.6) years old at baseline. At the follow-up visit 10% of adolescents had developed elevated BP. Compared to participants with a habitual weekday bedtime between 9 and 10 pm, those with a weekday bedtime 11 pm or later had a 1.87 times higher risk of developing elevated BP over the follow-up period (95% CI = 1.09, 2.21), after accounting for confounders. Participants with earlier weekday bedtimes also had a higher risk of elevated BP (RR = 1.96; 95% CI = 1.27, 3.01). The associations persisted after accounting for wake time. These data showed a U-shaped association between weekday bedtime and elevated/high BP risk among Mexican adolescents.

Hypertension Prevalence Based on Three Separate Visits and Its Association With Obesity Among Chinese Children and Adolescents.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines recommended that hypertension in children and adolescents should be defined based on elevated blood pressure (BP) on at least three separate occasions. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of hypertension based on three separate visits among Chinese children and adolescents and to examine its relationship with obesity.Methods: A school-based cross-sectional survey was performed in children and adolescents in Jinan, China between September 2012 and September 2014. A total of 7,832 children and adolescents aged 6–17 years were included. Anthropometric data and BP were measured by trained examiners. Elevated BP was defined as BP ≥ 95th percentile for age and sex based on the Chinese reference data. Participants with elevated BP at the first visit underwent a second visit 2 weeks later, and a third visit was conducted if BP was still high at the second visit. Hypertension was defined as having an elevated BP at all three visits. Obesity was defined in three ways by using body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio.Results: The prevalence of elevated BP decreased substantially across three separate visits, with the prevalence of 17.2, 8.6, and 4.9%, respectively. Obesity was an independent risk factor for elevated BP during each visit. Based on the body mass index, obesity was associated with higher risk of elevated BP, with the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 8.6 (6.8–11.0), 12.5 (9.1–17.3), and 14.0 (8.9–22.2), respectively, at the first, second and third visit. The ORs of elevated BP were similar in association with obesity defined by waist circumference or waist-to-height ratio.Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension based on three visits was ~5% in Chinese children and adolescents. There was a dose-response relationship between obesity and elevated BP across three visits.

Maternal Exposure to Ambient Particulate Matter ≤2.5 µm During Pregnancy and the Risk for High Blood Pressure in Childhood.

Exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with greater risk of elevated blood pressure (BP) in adults and children. Recent evidence suggests that air pollution exposure in pregnancy may also portend increased risk for the next generation; however, few studies have examined this relationship. We conducted a prospective study of 1293 mothers in the Boston Birth Cohort (enrolled 1998-2012) and their children who had follow-up visits between 3 and 9 years of age and complete exposure and outcome data. Our primary exposure, ambient particulate matter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) concentration during pregnancy, was estimated by matching mother's residential address to the US Environmental Protection Agency's air quality monitors. We defined our primary outcome child systolic BP (SBP) percentile according to US reference (Fourth Report) and classified elevated BP as SBP ≥90th percentile. Our multivariable-adjusted cubic spline showed a sharp increase in offspring SBP percentile and risk for elevated BP when third-trimester PM2.5 concentration was ≥13 μg/m3 The highest versus lowest tertile of third-trimester PM2.5 exposure was associated with a 4.85 (95% confidence interval: 1.38-8.37) percentile increase in child SBP or a 1.61 (95% confidence interval: 1.13-2.30) times higher risk of child elevated BP. A 5-μg/m3 increment in PM2.5 during the third trimester was associated with a 3.49 (95% confidence interval: 0.71-6.26) percentile increase in child SBP or a 1.47 (95% confidence interval: 1.17-1.85) times higher risk of elevated BP. Our findings suggest that exposure to ambient PM2.5 during the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with elevated BP in children, ages 3 to 9 years.

Comparison of body mass index with abdominal obesity for identifying elevated blood pressure in children and adolescents: The SNEC study

Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are two common ways to measure obesity. There is a debate, however, about which of these two measures are more closely associated with elevated blood pressure (BP). The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of obesity and whether BMI and WC is better associated with elevated BP in children and adolescents. A representative sample of 8613 Chinese youth aged 7-17 years from seven cities in Northeastern China was selected and measurements of height, weight, WC, BP were taken from 2012 to 2013. The average age of the children was 11.3±2.3years. The prevalence of overweight/obese and abdominal obesity in the subjects was 35% and 44.8%, respectively. We found that both BMI and WC were significantly associated with elevated BP. An increase of 1kgm-2 in BMI was associated with a 1.10 (1.08-1.12, 95% CI) increased risk of an elevated BP diagnosis in boys, and a 1.14 (1.11-1.16, 95% CI) increased risk in girls. Meanwhile, a 1cm increase in WC correlated with a 1.03 (1.02-1.04, 95% CI) and a 1.05 (1.04-1.06, 95% CI) increased risk of higher BP in boys and girls, respectively. Compared to the normal-weight youth, subjects with elevated BMI (BMI>85th) had higher risk of elevated BP (OR: 2.42, 95% CI: 2.13-2.75) than that of in elevated WC participants (OR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.77-2.27). Therefore, BMI may associate better with elevated BP than WC in Chinese youth in our Seven Northeastern Cities study.

The association between blood pressure and grip strength in adolescents: does body mass index matter?

Increased body mass index (BMI) has been related to both low grip strength and high blood pressure (BP) in adolescents. Previous reports of high BP associated with decreased grip strength could be due to the inherent increase in BP in youths with high BMI. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between grip strength and BP in adolescents independent of BMI. A total of 88 865 Chinese adolescents aged 13-17 years were included in this study. Sex-, age- and height-specific references were applied to calculate the BP z-score and define elevated BP. Grip strength was evaluated as handgrip (kg)/weight (kg) and converted into a sex- and age-specific z-score for analysis. Using fractional polynomial regression, we found that increased BMI was associated with enhanced BP and decreased grip strength; however, after stratification by or adjustment for BMI, strong grip strength was related to an increased BP. Logistic regression models revealed that a one s.d. increase in boys' grip strength z-score was associated with an 18% (95% confidence interval: 12, 25) to 37% (19, 59) higher risk of elevated BP when adjusted for BMI. These associations remained significant after further adjustment for cardiorespiratory fitness. A similar pattern was also observed in girls. These results indicated that strong grip strength was associated with increased adolescent BP after adjustment for BMI. Our findings raise questions about using muscle-strengthening training as an approach to improve the BP profile in adolescents.

Prevalence of Elevated Blood Pressure among First Grade Students in Elementary School in Taipei

Background/Purpose. To evaluate the prevalence of elevated blood pressure (BP) and the associated anthropometric factors among first-grade elementary school students in Taipei county. Methods. We measured height, weight, neck circumference (NC), waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure (BP) in 2344 first-grade children who were undergoing a regular health examination at 6 elementary schools in Taipei County in 2007. Results. The overall prevalence of elevated BP was 19.0%. The prevalence of elevated BP was significantly higher in boys (21.1%) than in girls (15.7%) (p=0.0002). Compared with the reference group, children with high NC (41.9% vs 17.5%, p＜0.0001) or high WC (45.9% vs 17.4%, p＜0.0001) had a higher prevalence of elevated BP. The prevalence of elevated BP was higher in obese children than in children with normal weight (37.6% vs 15.8%, p＜0.0001). In the multivariate logistic regression, boys had a higher risk of elevated BP than girls (OR=1.41, 95% CI=1.13-1.75). The OR for elevated BP in children with high WC was higher than that in children with normal WC (OR=1.99, 95% CI=1.18-3.37). Obese children (OR=1.83, 95% CI=1.14-2.92) and overweight children (OR=1.99, 95% CI=1.48-2.68) had a higher risk of elevated BP than children with normal weight. Conclusion. This study found that overweight and obesity are associated with elevated BP. We suggest that BP measurements should be included in regular health examinations among children.