Anthropometric parameters and altered blood pressure risk prediction in adolescents

Elevated blood pressure (EBP) or high blood pressure (HBP) has been frequently linked to excess weight in adolescents. This article aims to assess the association between altered blood pressure (ABP), including EBP and HBP, and anthropometric parameters. This cross-sectional study evaluated the association of ABP with waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), and height-to-waist ratio (HWR) among adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years. Predictive performance for ABP was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The study comprised 328 individuals, 51% female, 23% overweight, and 10% obese. The median WC was 77 cm (interquartile range [IQR]: 77.3-84.3 cm), and the medin HWR was 0.46 (IQR: 0.44-0.51). EBP was found to be more prevalent among males (p = 0.01) and obese participants (p = 0.03), with higher HWR (p = 0.007) and WC (p < 0.001). Regarding the prediction of HBP, WC demonstrated a larger area under the curve (0.71) compared to HWR (0.64) (p = 0.02), although similar to BMI (0.65) (p = 0.14). Waist circumference, a readily obtainable measure, exhibited predictive performance comparable to other anthropometric parameters in assessing the risk for ABP in this sample of Brazilian adolescents.