Elevated blood pressure and its predictors among secondary school students in Sarawak: a cross-sectional study.
Cent Eur J Public Health
; 26(1): 16-21, 2018 Mar.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29684292
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Hypertension is a health issue affecting adolescents. Accumulating evidence affirms that elevated blood pressure begins in childhood and tracks into adulthood. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of elevated blood pressure and its predictors among secondary school students in Sarawak, Malaysia.METHODS:
A total of 2,461 secondary school students aged 12-17 years from 19 schools in Sarawak participated in the study. Questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic data, parental history of hypertension, and self-reported physical activity. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were taken. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 23.0.RESULTS:
The prevalence of adolescents with elevated blood pressure, overweight, central obesity, and overfat were 30.1%, 24.3%, 13.5%, and 6.7%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated the predictors significantly associated with elevated blood pressure among respondents overweight (adjusted odds ratio=3.144), being male (adjusted odds ratio=3.073), being Chinese (adjusted odds ratio=2.321) or Iban (adjusted odds ratio=1.578), central obesity (adjusted odds ratio=2.145), being overfat (adjusted odds ratio=1.885), and being an older adolescent (adjusted odds ratio=1.109). Parental history of hypertension, locality, and physical activity showed no significant associations.CONCLUSION:
The obesity epidemic must be tackled at community and school levels by health education and regulation of school canteen foods.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Hypertension
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Cent Eur J Public Health
Journal subject:
EPIDEMIOLOGIA
/
SAUDE PUBLICA
Year:
2018
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Malaysia