Blood pressure and puberty.

The purpose of this investigation was to study the relation of blood pressure to sexual maturation in 229 boys and 189 girls, 10 to 14 years of age. The results showed that there was no significant correlation between the systolic and diastolic pressure with the level of serum follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone in either sex. Nor was there a significant correlation with the stage of pubic hair development in the boys nor with the stage of breast development, menarche, and duration since menarche in the girls. Therefore the presence of hypertension during 10 to 14 years of age should not be regarded as a physiologic response to pubertal development, but rather as a suspicious finding which deserves careful follow-up examinations.