The value of hip circumference/heightx ratio for identifying childhood hypertension

Abstract

To investigate the value of hip circumference related indexes for identifying childhood hypertension. In 2011, 1,352 Han children aged 7-12 years were recruited in our study. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure ≥95th percentile for all three screenings. We set the power value of the hip circumference/heightx ratio (x = 0, 0.8, 1 and 1.5) and studied the association with blood pressure. Hip circumference, hip circumference/height0.8, hip circumference/height and hip circumference/height1.5 all showed a positive correlation with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure(P < 0.05). Area under the curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the abilities of hip circumference related indexes. Hip circumference/height0.8, hip circumference/height and hip circumference/height1.5 were not superior to hip circumference. The present study demonstrates that hip circumference measurement is a helpful tool to detect the presence of hypertension in Han children 7-12 years old.