Study of blood pressure profile of school children 6–15 years in a rural setting of Maharashtra

BackgroundHigh blood pressure in childhood is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke in adulthood. There is enough evidence to suggest that the roots of essential hypertension in adults extend into childhood. There is a paucity of literature on the blood pressure measurements amongst children. This study was done to study blood pressure profile of school children in rural area of Maharashtra.Aim & objectivesThis cross sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence of hypertension in children 6–15 years and to study the association between selected variables and blood pressure.Material & methodsThis study was done using a predesigned questionnaire and making measurements of height, BMI and Blood pressure using standardized physical instruments following standard guidelines. The data was collected and analyzed using appropriate statistical tests.ResultsThe prevalence of hypertension in the study was found to be 4.4% with 3.5% in females and 5.1% in males.ConclusionIn the study, hypertension in students was found to be significantly associated with higher BMI and with family history of hypertension. Age, height and BMI were found to correlate positively with Blood pressure levels in this study.