BMI and Pediatric Hypertension Categories

Pediatric hypertension is a growing health care problem with long-term consequences. This study sought to understand the relationship between pediatric blood pressure measurements and body mass index (BMI) percentiles. The Pedia BP data repository was analyzed to assess prevalence of pediatric hypertension and differences in blood pressure categories based on BMI percentile. Half the sample (n = 600) had elevated blood pressure or hypertension. BMI percentile was only associated with elevation in blood pressure between the elevated blood pressure and stage 1 hypertension category. Thus, there may be a threshold at which BMI starts to influence blood pressure categories.