[Arterial blood pressure in Moroccan children and adolescents]

To develop blood pressure reference values for Maroccan children, a survey was carried out in 1987-88 in a group of 10,000 children 4 to 18 years of age. Study subjects were randomly selected among schoolchildren from the Great Casablanca Wilaya. There were 4,818 boys and 5,182 girls. To ensure optimal reliability of data, a precise, standardized methodology was used; blood pressure was measured in the supine position after at least five minutes rest, two cuffs of different sizes were available and selected according to age and body weight, and diastolic blood pressure was defined as Korotkow phase V. Distribution of blood pressure values was studied by age, sex and stature. Results were expressed as means +/- standard deviations and as percentiles. Blood pressure values were found to increase gradually with age, with sex-specific variations. Values were higher in post-pubertal girls. A linear positive correlation between arterial blood pressure and stature was found. This correlation was stronger than the blood pressure-age correlation. These data were compared with previous reports in the literature, although this analysis proved difficult because of variations in methods and results across studies.