Elevated blood pressure among primary school children in Dar es salaam, Tanzania: prevalence and risk factors

BACKGROUND Whilst the burden of non-communicable diseases is increasing in developing countries, little data is available on blood pressure among Tanzanian children. This study aimed at determining the blood pressure profiles and risk factors associated with elevated blood pressure among primary school children in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. METHODS We conducted a cross sectional survey among 446 children aged 6-17 years from 9 randomly selected primary schools in Dar es Salaam. We measured blood pressure using a standardized digital blood pressure measuring machine (Omron Digital HEM-907, Tokyo, Japan). We used an average of the three blood pressure readings for analysis. Elevated blood pressure was defined as average systolic or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90th percentile for age, gender and height. RESULTS The proportion of children with elevated blood pressure was 15.2% (pre-hypertension 4.4% and hypertension 10.8%). No significant gender differences were observed in the prevalence of elevated BP. Increasing age and overweight/obese children were significantly associated with elevated BP (p = 0.0029 and p < 0.0001) respectively. Similar associations were observed for age and overweight/obesity with hypertension. (p = 0.0506 and p < 0.0001) respectively. In multivariate analysis, age above 10 years (adjusted RR = 3.63, 95% CI = 1.03-7.82) was significantly and independently associated with elevated BP in this population of school age children. CONCLUSIONS We observed a higher proportion of elevated BP in this population of school age children. Older age and overweight/obesity were associated with elevated BP. Assessment of BP and BMI should be incorporated in school health program in Tanzania to identify those at risk so that appropriate interventions can be instituted before development of associated complications.