Comparisons of blood pressure between Asian-American children and children from other racial groups in Chicago.

RESEARCHERS COMPARED AVERAGE BLOOD PRESSURE, prevalence of elevated blood pressure, and average anthropometric measurements of Asian children with those same measures in children from other racial and ethnic groups, including blacks, whites, and Hispanics. The sample consisted of 1318 boys and 1548 girls ages 6 to 9 who had complete blood pressure and anthropometric data, which were derived from a health screening program in nonpublic schools conducted by the Chicago Department of Health from 1975 to 1978. The systolic pressure, adjusted for age, weight, and height, for Asian, black, Hispanic, and white boys was 108.1, 105.8, 104.7, and 105.6 mmHg, and for diastolic pressure, the adjusted values were 59.6, 58.9, 56.3, and 57.4 mmHg. For both systolic and diastolic, the differences between Asian boys and white boys and between Asian boys and Hispanic boys were statistically significant. For girls, the results were similar. In addition, for boys, the prevalence rates of elevated blood pressure (systolic greater than or equal to 122 mmHg or diastolic greater than or equal to 78 mmHg) were similar among the four groups. For girls, the prevalence rate for Asians was higher than those in the other groups; however, the differences were not statistically significant. Since hypertension is a major health problem in Asians, it is important to confirm these findings and to understand why mean blood pressure adjusted for age and body size is higher in Asian children than in other racial groups.