Using blood pressure height index to define hypertension among secondary school adolescents in southwestern Uganda
Loading...
Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Human Hypertension
Abstract
Hypertension is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular diseases worldwide and yet its diagnosis among
adolescents, based on blood pressure percentiles which are age, height, and sex-specific, is complex. Our study intended
to determine the suitability of blood pressure height index in defining adolescent hypertension among secondary school
adolescents aged 12–17 years in Mbarara municipality, southwestern Uganda. Our study used data of 485 secondary
school adolescents of which 173 were boys. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to assess
the performance of systolic blood pressure height index (SBPHI) and diastolic blood pressure height index (DBPHI)
for screening for adolescent prehypertension and hypertension. The optimal systolic/diastolic thresholds for defining
prehypertension were 0.70/0.43 mmHg/cm in boys and 0.76/0.43 in girls. The corresponding values for hypertension
were 0.78/0.43 and 0.77/0.48 mmHg/cm, respectively. The negative predictive values were much higher (all ≥ 95%)
for prehypertension and hypertension, while the positive predictive value was 100% for hypertension in both sexes.
In conclusion, Blood pressure height index is simple and accurate for screening for prehypertension and hypertension
in adolescents aged 12–17 years hence can be used for early screening of adolescents at high risk of hypertension but not
its diagnosis.
Description
Keywords
blood pressure, hypertension, adolescents, Uganda
Citation
Katamba, G., Collins Agaba, D., Migisha, R., Namaganda, A., Namayanja, R., & Turyakira, E. (2020). Using blood pressure height index to define hypertension among secondary school adolescents in southwestern Uganda. Journal of Human Hypertension, 34(1), 76-81. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-019-0292-x