Association between general and central adiposity and development of hypertension in early childhood

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the association of general and abdominal obesity with high blood pressure in young children. Methods: A longitudinal study including 1796 participants from the Madrid region (Spain) with baseline at age 4 years and a follow-up 2 years later. Blood pressure, body mass index and waist circumference were measured during a physical examination. We evaluated the association between obesity at baseline and weight changes between the ages of 4 and 6 years and high blood pressure. Data were analysed using linear and logistic regressions adjusted for covariates. Results: Obese 4 year olds (general or abdominal obesity) experienced an average 4–5 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure and a 2.5–3 mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure by the age of 6 years. Compared to children maintaining a non-excess weight (based on body mass index) during follow-up incident and persistent cases of excess weight (overweight or obesity) had an odds ratio (OR) for high blood pressure of 2.49 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.50–4.13) and OR 2.54 (95% CI 1.27–5.07), respectively. Regarding abdominal obesity we estimated OR 2.81 (95% CI 0.98–8.02) for incident cases and OR 3.42 (95% CI 1.38–8.49) for persistent cases. Similar estimates for the waist–height ratio were observed. Individuals who experienced remission to non-excess weight did not have an increased risk of high blood pressure. Conclusions: We observed an increased risk for high blood pressure among 4-year-olds who presented with persistent or incident cases of excess weight (body mass index) or abdominal obesity after 2 years of follow-up. Children with excess weight or obesity at baseline who remitted to non-excess weight did not exhibit an increased risk of high blood pressure.