Diagnostic Precision of Anthropometric Variables for the Detection of Hypertension in Children and Adolescents

Manuel Vaquero-Álvarez, Rafael Molina-Luque, Francisco Javier Fonseca-Pozo, Guillermo Molina-Recio, José López-Miranda and Manuel Romero-Saldaña
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Manuel Vaquero-Álvarez: Primary Care Emergency Service (SUAP) South Sanitary Area, 14850 Córdoba, Spain
Rafael Molina-Luque: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of Córdoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
Francisco Javier Fonseca-Pozo: Grupo Investigación GC12 Clinical and Epidemiological Research in Primary Care, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
Guillermo Molina-Recio: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of Córdoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
José López-Miranda: Department of Internal Medicine, Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC), Reina Sofia University Hospital, University of Cordoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
Manuel Romero-Saldaña: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of Córdoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: Introduction : High blood pressure (HBP) is a health problem the prevalence of which has increased in young populations. Overweight and obesity in early ages have been directly related to its development. Due to the impact of HBP, it is necessary to provide tools that facilitate its early diagnosis, with useful anthropometric variables being those that assess obesity. The objective of this paper was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of anthropometric variables to detect HBP. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 265 students aged 6–16. The diagnosis of HBP was made following the criteria proposed by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics. Through different statistical methods, the association between anthropometric variables of general obesity with HBP was analyzed. Results: Waist circumference (WC) showed the best diagnostic capacity (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.729), with a sensitivity and specificity of 72.2% and 76%, respectively, for a cut-off point of 73.5 cm. In the adjusted multivariate analysis, an association was found between HBP and anthropometric variables: WC (odds ratio (OR) = 10.7), body mass index (OR = 7.5), waist-to-height ratio (OR = 5.5) and body fat percentage (OR = 5.3) ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: The anthropometric variables studied showed a moderate predictive capacity for HBP, highlighting WC, which showed the strongest association with HBP in the infant and child population.

Keywords: anthropometry; high blood pressure; school population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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