Anthropometric Correlates of Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure Among Children and Adolescents in Ibadan, Southwest, Nigeria

Introduction: Abnormal anthropometric indices in children and adolescents, can potentially increase the risk of developing elevated blood pressure at a younger age. Children and adolescents with abnormal blood pressure at an early stage are likely to develop hypertension at a later stage in life. Studying the anthropometric indicators associated with raised BP in children and adolescents is crucial for early detection of modifiable risk factors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the anthropometric correlates of elevated blood pressure among children and adolescents in Ibadan, south-west Nigeria. Materials & Methods: This study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study design of 335 adolescents, using a multi-stage sampling technique to select participants. Data collected from the respondents were processed and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Version 27.0) and R Studio. Descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, frequencies, and percentages, were used to report the findings. Chi-square tests, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and regression analysis were used to test the association and relationships between variables. The significance level was set at 5% at a p-value < 0.05. Results: No statistically significant association existed between the mean SBP and DBP and anthropometric categories. Further analysis using Linear regression analysis shows no significant association between anthropometric indicators and SBP and DBP, with BMI having (r = -0.040, p = 0.764) and (r = 0.070; p = 0.547), waist circumference (r = -0.041, p = 0.538) and (r = 0.070; p = 0.222), waist-to-hip ratio (r = −2.508, p = 0.634) and (r = 0.790; p = 0.693), MUAC (r = 1.146, p = 0.561) and (r = 0.691; p = 0.683) respectively. Conclusion: Anthropometric measures were not significantly associated with elevated blood pressure, BMI, Waist Circumference, Waist-hip-ratio, and MUAC were within the normal range for the children and adolescents. The relatively narrow distribution of anthropometric parameters in this age group could all be one reason for the lack of significant relationships, suggesting that the discrepancy in these findings may be due to differences in dietary patterns, age distributions, or levels of physical activity across the adolescent population.