Evaluation of anthropometry and hypertension in well-child follow-up

Erdal İ., Evaluation of anthropometry and hypertension in well-child follow-up, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Thesis in Pediatrics, Ankara, 2018. Obesity is a growing health problem all over the world; hypertension and other comorbidities associated with obesity are also increasing. Anthropometric measurements are frequently used to determine body fat ratio. The relationship between anthropometric measurements and the increase in body fat ratio and the risk of comorbidities due to this increase can be established. The purpose of this study is to compare the anthropometric measurements with the blood pressure measurements to determine the anthropometric measurement methods that can be used as a risk indicator for hypertension and to show the relation between obesity and hypertension in the study area. A total of 544 girl and boy students aged 12-13 years were included in the study. Of all, 25,4% of the boys are overweight, 16,8% are obese; 25,4% of girls are overweight and 9,4% are obese. High blood pressure was detected in 12.7% of the participants, stage 1 hypertension in 14.9% and stage 2 hypertension in 2.6%. Increased likelihood of high blood pressure and hypertension in children with waist circumference, arm circumference, and DKK measurements above 85 percentile. It was seen that the anthropometric measurements were positively correlated with the blood pressure when the child's age, sex, height-for-age z-score, parents' ages, and presence of chronic illnesses in parents were adjusted. This relationship was most strongly observed between waist circumference and systolic hypertension (OR=4,10). Findings that we have found show that the prevelance of obesity and hypertension increases rapidly in our society and that we should be in a more effective intervention and struggle. However, anthropometric measurement and evaluation methods other than body mass index can also be used to determine the risk of secondary diseases associated with obesity.