Trajectory of Systolic Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents

Purpose Rapid height and weight changes during childhood contribute markedly to blood-pressure change during childrenʹs physical growth. This article evaluates the differences in systolic blood pressure (SBP) growth or changes between four gender-ethnic groups: African American males (AM), Caucasian males (CM), African American females (AF), and Caucasian females (CF). Methods Subjects 6–9 years old at entry (n = 1302) were followed for 12 years. The repeated-measure data of SBP were analyzed using the Gompertz growth model with random coefficients. Results Mean SBP (mmHg) at age 6 years was lowest in African American girls (82.23 ± 0.76) and highest in Caucasian boys (102.83 ± 0.5). And for both ethnic groups, girls had lower levels at which SBP growth stopped. The peak growth ages (years) also differed by group: 9.30 ± 0.73, 9.91 ± 0.28, 10.00 ± 0.82, and 10.60 ± 0.22 for African American girls, African American boys, Caucasian girls and Caucasian boys, respectively. Conclusion SBP growth differed among gender-ethnic groups with respect to mean SBP level at age 6, the level at which SBP growth stops and the mean age at which SBP growth rate was at its peak.