A Longitudinal Study of Blood Pressure in Polynesian Children

Initial blood pressure readings were taken in 393 Tokelauan children aged 5–14 years resident in New Zealand. Follow-up readings were taken in 361 (92 per cent) of the original children after an interval of between 1.5 and 3.7 years. The blood pressures for 358 of these children were adjusted for age by calculating z scores. There was a significant positive correlation between the follow-up and initial readings for systolic pressure in boys (r = 0.31, p < 0.001, n = 200) and girls (r = 0.24, p = 0.002, n = 158). The correlation coefficients remain significant when body mass and length of follow-up are controlled. These data confirm previous work suggesting that the stratification of systolic blood pressure within peer groups begins during and is detectable in childhood.