Study of Prevalence of Prehypertension and Hypertension among Urban School-going Children in Tripura

Sir, In January–April 2023 issue of the Journal of Primary Care Specialties, Debbarma et al.[1] studied blood pressure (BP) profiles among urban school-going Indian children. On referring to the guideline for hypertension prevention and management,[2] they estimated the prevalence of normotension (73.6%), prehypertension (19.4%), and hypertension (7%).[1] Debbarma et al.[1] mentioned two study limitations; notably, the confinement of the study to one district of the state and the recruitment of a limited number of students and schools. We believe that the following methodological limitation is notable. Proper evaluation of pediatric BP needs the use of BP centiles. Importantly, genetic, socioeconomic, nutritional, and racial backgrounds determine BP in a particular pediatric population.[3] Pediatric populations-specific BP centiles have been generated for certain countries to be used in clinical and research contexts.[4] India established age- and gender-specific pediatric systolic and diastolic BP centiles in 2015.[5] Instead of referring to the national standard, Debbarma et al.[1] regretfully referred to a Western standard, which was released in 2003,[2] to classify BP readings of the studied pediatric population into the stages of prehypertension, normotension, and hypertension. This limitation could also handicap the correctness of the study results. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.