Associations of blood pressure with body composition among Afro-Caribbean children in barbados

Abstract

Despite complex presentation of adult hypertension and a concomitant obesity epidemic, little is known about overweight in relation to blood pressure among Caribbean children. We examined blood pressure in relation to body size in a cross-sectional study of 573 Barbadian children aged 9-10 years (2010-2011). The United States normative blood pressure percentiles were used to identify children with high (≥ 95th percentile) or high normal blood pressure (90th - 95th percentile). The World Health Organization body mass index cut-off points were used to assess weight status.