The relationship between body fat ratio and blood pressure in school-age children

Hypertension (HTN) and obesity prevalences are rising in childhood and it is important to evaluate associations of these situations. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between HTN and body fat ratios (BFR) in children. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 134 participants who were directed to pediatric nephrology outpatient clinic with the prediagnosis of primary HTN. Weight, height, body fat ratio, blood pressure, and ambulatory blood pressure monitor (ABPM) was carried out for all the participants. Of the participants, 70 of them were diagnosed as hypertension with ABPM and included in the patient group, 64 of them had elevated office blood pressure (BP) but normotensive according to ABPM were included in the control group. Body fat ratio (BFR) levels of the patient group were higher than the control group (p < 0.05). There were significant linear correlation between night systolic blood pressure (SBP), night diastolic blood pressure (DBP), night mean arterial pressure (MAP), and BFR in the patient group (p < 0.05). There was a negative correlation between BFR and dipper (p = 0.022; p < 0.05) in the patient group. There was no correlation between BFR and blood pressures or dipper in the control group. According to our results BFR levels have significant association with HTN. According to our findings high BFR especially effects night BP, pulses, nondipping, and nighttime values can be evaluated only with ABPM. For prevention of HTN in children, caution should be given to monitor and lower BFR values.