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Elevated blood pressure in overweight and obese Irish children

F M Finucane1, S Pittock, M Fallon

  • 1Metabolic Research Unit, Hospital 5, St James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland. francisfinucane@physicians.ie

Irish Journal of Medical Science
|October 1, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Irish children face a severe obesity epidemic, with many presenting with high blood pressure. This study highlights significant long-term health risks for obese youth in Ireland.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Public Health
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Ireland faces one of the world's highest childhood obesity rates.
  • Childhood obesity poses a significant public health threat.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the clinical characteristics of obese Irish children.
  • To identify health risks associated with childhood obesity in Ireland.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective observational study of 206 obese children.
  • Data collected over 15 years at a pediatric endocrine referral center.
  • Analysis included gender, age, height, weight, BMI, and blood pressure.

Main Results:

  • Younger obese children had higher standardized BMI.
  • Over 90% of referred boys and girls were obese (BMI ≥ 95th percentile).
  • 51% of boys and 49% of girls presented with hypertension; obesity correlated with systolic blood pressure, especially in boys.

Conclusions:

  • Obese Irish children exhibit significant long-term health risks.
  • Hypertension is a prevalent comorbidity at baseline in this cohort.
Abstract

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