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Table 2 Characteristics of the study participants according to blood pressure levels

From: Association of neck circumference and high blood pressure in children and adolescents: a case–control study

Variables Normotensive (n = 1335) Prehypertensive (n = 123) Hypertensive (n = 489) P*
n % n % n %
Sex:        
Boys 586 43.9 59 48.0 317 64.8 <0.001
Girls 749 56.1 64 52.0 172 35.2  
Age (years):        
12–13 782 58.6 65 52.8 206 42.1 <0.001
14–15 553 41.4 58 47.2 283 57.9  
NC percentile categories:        
<90th 1211 90.7 95 77.2 363 74.2 <0.001
≥90th 124 9.3 28 22.8 126 25.8  
BMI categories:        
Normal weight 1206 90.3 90 73.2 344 70.3 <0.001
Overweight/obesity 129 9.7 33 26.8 145 29.7  
WC percentile categories:        
<75th 1229 92.1 96 78.0 368 75.3 <0.001
≥75th 106 7.9 27 22.0 121 24.7  
NC and BMI categories:        
NC < 90th and normal weight 1131 84.7 81 65.9 306 62.5 <0.001
NC ≥ 90th and normal weight 75 5.6 9 7.3 38 7.8  
NC < 90th and overweight/obesity 80 6.0 14 11.4 57 11.7  
NC ≥ 90th and overweight/obesity 49 3.7 19 15.4 88 18.0  
NC and WC percentile categories:        
NC < 90th and WC < 75th 1147 85.9 81 65.9 318 65.0 <0.001
NC ≥ 90th and WC < 75th 82 6.2 15 12.1 50 10.2  
NC < 90th and WC ≥75th 64 4.8 14 11.4 45 9.2  
NC ≥ 90th and WC ≥75th 42 3.1 13 10.6 76 15.5  
Age (years) 13.27 ± 1.07 13.41 ± 1.16 13.69 ± 1.06a, b <0.001
Weight (kg) 49.68 ± 10.48 56.23 ± 13.06a 60.77 ± 13.25a, b <0.001
Height (cm) 161.47 ± 9.26 163.65 ± 11.02 167.23 ± 9.01a, b <0.001
BMI (kg/m2) 18.91 ± 2.81 20.82 ± 3.51a 21.62 ± 3.85a, b <0.001
BAI 25.85 ± 3.42 27.07 ± 4.37a 26.72 ± 4.44a, b <0.001
NC (cm) 31.49 ± 2.53 33.22 ± 2.68a 33.92 ± 2.90a, b <0.001
WC (cm) 66.41 ± 7.11 71.45 ± 9.59a 73.19 ± 9.76a <0.001
HC (cm) 89.84 ± 8.08 94.00 ± 8.59a 96.45 ± 8.93a, b <0.001
MUAC (cm) 25.28 ± 2.87 27.07 ± 3.60a 27.90 ± 3.35a, b <0.001
WHtR 0.41 ± 0.04 0.44 ± 0.05a 0.44 ± 0.06a <0.001
WHR 0.74 ± 0.06 0.76 ± 0.07a 0.76 ± 0.07a <0.001
SBP (mmHg) 110.75 ± 6.96 123.97 ± 4.29a 138.10 ± 9.73a, b <0.001
DBP (mmHg) 62.05 ± 6.38 66.65 ± 7.13a 69.51 ± 7.89a, b <0.001
  1. NC neck circumference; BMI body mass index; WC waist circumference; BAI body adiposity index; HC hip circumferencel; MUAC mid-upper arm circumference; WHtR waist-to-height ratio; WHR waist-to-hip ratio; SBP systolic blood pressure; DBP diastolic blood pressure
  2. Values are percentages and mean ± SD (standard deviation)
  3. *Significant differences between the groups were determined by the chi-square (χ2) test for categorical variables and ANOVA for continuous variables
  4. aSignificantly different (P < 0.05) from normotensive participants
  5. bSignificantly different (P < 0.05) from prehypertensive participants
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BMC Pediatrics

ISSN: 1471-2431

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