Purpose. This study investigated the anthropometric indices associated with variations in cardiovascular parameters among primary school pupils in Ile-Ife. Method. One thousand and twenty-six pupils (age range 6–14 years, mean age 10.12 years) from ten schools were recruited with parents' informed consent. Anthropometric (Height (Ht), Weight (Wt), Abdominal Circumference (AC)) and cardiovascular (Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Heart Rate (HR)) parameters were measured using standard instruments and procedures. Blood pressure (BP) was measured after ten minutes of quiet sitting. Body Mass Index (BMI), Rate Pressure Product (RPP) and Pulse Pressure (PP) were estimated. Results. Age, Ht, Wt, BMI, and AC correlated significantly ( ) with BP and PP. AC and BMI were predictors of BP, HR, RPP, and PP. Conclusion. Significant correlations exist between age, Ht, Wt, BMI, AC, and BP with weight being a more viable predictor of SBP and age a more viable predictor of DBP. 1. Introduction Hypertension is known to be a direct or indirect cause of death globally [1, 2]. Findings from previous longitudinal studies of Blood Pressure (BP) suggests that essential hypertension in adults can be detected in early life [3, 4]. Because of the public health value of prevention of hypertension, a lot of work has been done to find out the prevalence of childhood hypertension [3–5]. Part of the findings of these studies is that prevalence of hypertension in children has racial and rural-urban variations [3, 4]. In African children, higher risks of cardiovascular disease have been found among Urbanites than rural dwellers, however, no consistent trend was found along socioeconomic and ethnic lines [4–6]. These inconsistencies in the trend of essential hypertension in Africa have made it difficult to extrapolate adult risk for high BP from a child’s BP. However, studies have been conducted in the past to identify anthropometric indices that can be used as markers of child BP and Heart Rate (HR) in Africa and other continents [4, 7]. These studies have shown that BP in children is closely related to Height (Ht), Weight (Wt), Body Mass Index (BMI), Ponderosity Index (PI), skin fold thickness, and mid-upper arm circumference. However, the few studies that have examined this relationship among Nigerian children [4, 6] have not explored the relationship of Abdominal Circumference (AC) to their BP and HR whereas previous studies have highlighted its important relationship with obesity and abdominal adiposity [8–11]. In the year 2000, Savva et al. [7]
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