Distribution curve of waist-to-height ratio and its association with blood pressure among children and adolescents: study in a large population in an eastern coastal province, China

• Published in: European journal of pediatrics 2014-07, Vol.173 (7), p.879-885
• Main Authors: Zhang, Ying-xiu, Zhang, Zhi-chuan, Xie, Li
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdomen; Adolescent; Age; Blood pressure; Blood Pressure - physiology; Blood Pressure Determination; Child; Children & youth; China - epidemiology; Disease control; Disease prevention; Female; Girls; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - prevention & control; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obesity; Obesity, Abdominal - prevention & control; Original Article; Pediatrics; Prevalence; Students; Teenagers; Waist Circumference; Waist-Height Ratio
• ISSN: 0340-6199; 1432-1076
• DOI: 10.1007/s00431-013-2259-1

Several studies have suggested that waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is an accurate and easier index for evaluating abdominal obesity in both children and adults. The present study examined the distribution of WHtR and its association with blood pressure (BP) levels among children and adolescents in a large population in Shandong, China. A total of 38,810 students (19,453 boys and 19,357 girls) aged 7–17 years participated in this study. Height, waist circumference (WC), and BP of all subjects were measured, and WHtR was calculated. Abdominal obesity was defined as WHtR ≥0.5; high BP status was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥95th percentile for age and gender. Overall, 16.45 % (95%CI: 15.93–16.97) and 7.80 % (95%CI: 7.42–8.17) of boys and girls had a WHtR ≥0.5. WHtR was positively correlated with SBP and DBP in both boys and girls. The mean values of SBP and DBP for both boys and girls were all significantly higher in the WHtR ≥0.5 group than in the WHtR