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Blood pressure of children aged 3 to 5 years--the Nahariya Study
1Renal Unit, Western Galilee Regional Hospital, Nahariya, Israel.
Insights
This study established blood pressure percentiles for preschool children in Israel. It identified abnormal systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels for children aged 3 to 5 years.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Cardiovascular Health
- Public Health
Background:
- Establishing normative blood pressure values in children is crucial for early detection of hypertension.
- Previous studies have varied in their methodologies for measuring diastolic blood pressure, potentially affecting reported values.
- Understanding blood pressure distribution in preschool-aged populations is essential for pediatric health monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish blood pressure percentiles for preschool children aged 3 to 5 years in Nahariya, Israel.
- To define abnormal blood pressure thresholds for this specific age group.
- To compare findings with existing pediatric blood pressure studies.
Main Methods:
- Blood pressure was measured in 974 preschool children (aged 3-5 years) during the 1983-84 school year.
- Percentile charts and distribution curves for systolic and diastolic blood pressure were developed.
- The fifth Korotkoff sound was used for diastolic pressure determination.
Main Results:
- Mean systolic blood pressure showed a non-significant increase with age and was slightly higher in boys than girls.
- Mean diastolic blood pressure increased slightly with age, with no significant sex differences.
- Diastolic pressures were lower than in other studies, attributed to using the fifth Korotkoff sound.
Conclusions:
- Abnormal systolic blood pressure was defined as >108 mm Hg (age 3), >110 mm Hg (age 4), and >112 mm Hg (age 5).
- Abnormal diastolic blood pressure was defined as >62 mm Hg (age 3), >64 mm Hg (age 4), and >68 mm Hg (age 5).
- These findings provide age- and sex-specific reference values for pediatric blood pressure screening.
Abstract:
A total of 974 preschool children aged 3 to 5 years in the city of Nahariya, Israel had their blood pressure measured during the 1983-84 school year. Charts of selected percentiles of blood pressure were developed, and distribution curves were drawn. Mean systolic pressure increased with age--though not significantly--in both sexes, and it tended to be higher in boys than in girls. The mean diastolic pressures increased slightly with age in both sexes, but no differences were found between boys and girls. The mean diastolic pressures in this survey were significantly lower than those reported in other studies, presumably because we used the fifth Korotkoff sound for determination of diastolic pressure instead of the fourth, as was done in most other studies. The percentiles of blood pressure in our study indicated for both sexes that systolic blood pressure above 108 mm Hg at age 3, 110 mm Hg at age 4 and 112 mm Hg at age 5 and diastolic pressures above 62, 64 and 68 mm Hg, respectively, must be considered abnormal.