Aim. To investigate the relationship between high blood pressure (HBP) and obesity in Egyptian adolescents. Methods. A cross-sectional study of 1500 adolescents (11–19 years) in Alexandria, Egypt, was conducted. Resting BP was measured and measurements were categorized using the 2004 fourth report on blood pressure screening recommendations. Additional measures included height, weight, and waist and hip circumferences. Obesity was determined based on BMI, waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) indicators. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were used as measures of association between BP and obesity. Results. Prevalence rates of prehypertension and hypertension were 5.7% and 4.0%, respectively. Obesity was seen in 34.6%, 16.1%, 4.5%, and 16.7% according to BMI, WHR, WC, and WHtR, respectively. Adjusting for confounders, HBP was significantly associated with overall obesity based on BMI ( , 95%, ) and central obesity based on WC , 95%, ). Conclusion. Both overall obesity and central obesity were significant predictors of HBP in Egyptian adolescents. 1. Introduction The importance of hypertension in the pediatric population has not been as well appreciated as in adults. Children with elevated blood pressure (BP) can develop target organ damage [1], and they are also at increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood [2]. Consequently, detection and management of elevated BP at an early age may be an important means for limiting the disease burden due to hypertension [3]. The prevalence of HBP among children in several recently conducted studies in Western countries ranged from 7 to 19% [4–6]. However, few studies have been conducted in children in developing countries. A study of blood pressure levels among primary school students in Kuwait found that the overall prevalence of hypertension was 5.1% [7], 3.6% among school children in Jordan [8], and 4.30% among preparatory school children in Alexandria [9]. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased markedly over the last 2 decades [10–14]. This increase is associated with an increase in hypertension rates which could lead to atherosclerotic disease in adulthood [15, 16]. Primary hypertension in children has become increasingly common in association with other cardiovascular risk factors that include being overweight, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia [16]. Many studies have shown that blood pressure is associated with being overweight in children and adolescents of Western countries [4–6, 17]. However, few data are available in non-Western
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