Roshan Kumar Mahat

The reports of longitudinal study of blood pressure in childhood suggest an important role for early detection and enhancing a better understanding of the natural history of elevated blood pressure. Many of the risk factors associated with development of hypertension are preventable. Early identification of children at risk for hypertension is important to prevent serious complications in future adulthood. The present study was aimed to determine the percentile of systolic and diastolic blood pressures and to investigate distribution of blood pressure and its association with anthropometric parameters. A cross-sectional study among 300 school children (in the age group of 3-12 years), selected by stratified random sampling was conducted in Meerut. Personal data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire. Blood pressure and height were measured through standardized techniques. The distributions of blood pressure by anthropometric characteristics were examined. Mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis using SPSS 16 software.