Blood pressure patterns in Nigerian adolescents

The study was designed to define the mean blood pressure level of adolescents in the city of Ibadan and to establish the relationship between blood pressure and age, sex, weight, height, skinfold thickness, pulse and parental socio-economic class or educational level in an urban adolescent population. All pupils attending two schools located in 2 different socio-economic areas of Ibadan, a city in Western Nigeria, were recruited into the study. Mean Systolic Blood Pressures (SBP) were 111.3 +/- 12.4 mm for males and 112.5 +/- 12.2 mm for females (P < 0.04). The Mean Diastolic Blood Pressures (DBP) were 60.2 +/- 9.7 in males and 70.7 +/- 10.0 in females (P < 0.003). Mean SBP and DBP increased with age in the 2 groups and in both sexes. Adolescents aged 16-19 years had higher blood pressures than those aged 12-15 years (P < 0.001). There were positive significant correlations between body mass index (BMI), pulse and blood pressure. Mean Systolic and Diastolic Pressures were higher in children from the lower socio-economic group and the differences were significant in females (P < 0.001). Similarly higher percentage prevalences of SBP and DBP above 95th percentile were found in adolescents from the lower socio-economic group and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001 respectively). The findings confirm that age, sex, body mass and socio-economic background all have an influence on the blood pressure levels of Nigerian adolescents.