[A five-year follow-up study on blood pressure and serum cholesterol in junior high school children]

Blood pressure and serum cholesterol changes over a five-year period were studied in 299 junior high school children (127 males and 172 females) examined during 1980-1984 in Akita Prefecture, Japan. The six factors studied were height, weight, body mass index (by Minowa's method), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and serum cholesterol. Mean values for systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased more than 10 mmHg during the five years in both sexes. Significant positive correlations between initial and follow-up blood pressure ('tracking') were observed. The correlation coefficients for systolic blood pressure in males and in females were 0.33 and 0.28 respectively, and those for diastolic blood pressure were 0.36 in males and 0.19 in females. While there were no significant differences in serum cholesterol levels between the two periods in either sex, the correlation coefficients, which were higher than those for blood pressure, were 0.55 in males and 0.45 in females. Among the six factors at each period, significant positive correlations were observed between height and systolic blood pressure at the initial period, and between obesity and systolic blood pressure at both periods in males and females. A significant positive relationship between obesity and serum cholesterol was seen at the follow-up period in both sexes. These data suggest that a moderate degree of 'tracking' occurs in blood pressure and serum cholesterol during childhood, and that obesity is an important factor related to blood pressure and serum cholesterol.