Prevalence of high blood pressure among school-aged children in St Petersburg based on the electronic database of the regular preventive medical examination

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the age- and gender-stratified prevalence and structure of high blood pressure (BP) among school-age children (7–17 years) in St Petersburg based on the electronic protocols of the regular preventive medical examination in 2009–2013 years. Design and methods. We collected the data from the regular preventive medical examination electronic protocols of 4618 children aged from 7 to 17 years old for the period from 2009 to 2013. The mean age of males (52,2%) was 12,81 ± 0,05 years; Me = 13,2 years, the age of females (47,8%) was 12,95 ± 0,05; Me = 13,3 years. Data entry and assessment of height, BP percentiles were carried out using mathematical software. Gradations of systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) were the following: high normal BP, stage 1 hypertension (HTN) and stage 2 HTN. Results. High normal BP was detected in 10,3% of school-age children, 8,7% had stage 1 HTN, 1% had stage 2 HTN. No significant differences in the HTN distribution were found between males and females. The proportion of males with higher BP increased significantly with increasing age of children. There was no significant relationship between age and BP gradation in females. The prevalence of elevated SBP was 12,7%. High normal SBP was found in 6,1% children, stage 1 HTN by SBP — in 5,9%, stage 2 HTN by SBP — in 0,7%. The rate of higher SBP was greater in the total sample, and in both boys and girls. The systolic hypertension was found only in older boys. The prevalence of increased DBP was 12,4% (high normal DBP was found in 7,5%, stage 1 HTN by DBP — in 4,5%, stage 2 HTN by DBP — in 0,4%). The DBP gradations did not correlate with the children’s age. Conclusions. The elevated BP was detected in 20% of school-age children (among males — in 19,4%, in females — 20,6%). The understanding of trends in the HTN prevalence in children will allow optimization of medical and organization approaches to treatment and prevention.