[High blood pressure in adolescents: prevalence and associated factors]

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of high Blood Pressure (BP) among adolescents in a Brazilian city. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 653 adolescents (57.9% female) of high school level between 14 and 19 years of age. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of all subjects were measured. Social and demographic variables and lifestyle factors and body mass index were obtained. Binary logistic regression, crude and adjusted, was employed with a significance level of 5%. The mean SBP and DBP were 111.9 mmHg and 69.9 mmHg, respectively. The prevalence of high BP levels was 12.4%. The multivariable analysis revealed that males (OR: 2.37, 95% CI: 1.45, 3.90), adolescents with maternal education < 8 years (OR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.03, 3.30) and overweight (OR: 3.79, 95% CI: 2.23, 6.43) had greater indices of high BP. The interaction term between males and overweight represented the subgroup with greater indices of high BP (OR: 6.41, 95% CI: 3.00, 13.16). High BP affects adolescents from Ponta Grossa, State of Paraná, and the groups with greater indices of high BP were males, with low maternal educational level and overweight.