Peer-reviewed article
Correlation of Nutritional Status and Blood Pressure of Apparently Healthy Primary School Pupils Aged 6–12 years in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State
Ubangida Suleiman, Olumuyiwa Adeyemi Owolabi, Abbas Olagunju, Abubakar Umar, Muhammad Auwal Saliu et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5This study looked at the nutritional status and blood pressure of 219 primary school children aged 6 to 12 in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Researchers measured children's height, weight, and blood pressure to see how these were related. They found that some children were severely thin or stunted, showing signs of malnutrition. The study also found that children's weight was strongly linked to higher blood pressure, and blood pressure tended to rise with age and was higher in private school pupils than public school pupils.
Key points
- 4.34% of boys and 1.92% of girls were severely wasted (very thin for their age)
- 2.61% of boys and 1.92% of girls were severely stunted (short for their age)
- No significant difference in severe thinness or stunting between boys and girls
- Weight showed a strong positive correlation with systolic blood pressure (r=0.77), diastolic blood pressure (r=0.61), and mean arterial pressure (r=0.74)
- Blood pressure increased with age and was higher among private school pupils than public school pupils
Limitations
The study only shows a correlation between weight and blood pressure at one point in time, so it cannot prove that malnutrition causes changes in blood pressure. It also does not explain why private school pupils had higher blood pressure than public school pupils.
Abstract
Anthropometric indices have become practical tools for evaluating the nutritional status of populations. Understanding the nutritional status of children has far-reaching implications for promoting the health of future generations. The necessity for routine blood pressure screening in children was debated in the past, the main argument against it being that essential hypertension is an adult disease and there was no evidence that screening apparently healthy children for hypertension is rewarding. Its value as a screening tool for hypertension in adults has long been documented. This study has been designed to assess the relationship between nutritional status and blood pressure among apparently healthy primary school pupils aged 6–12 years in Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna State. The study was conducted on 219 pupils randomly selected from public and private schools using a table of random numbers. Blood pressure was measured after 5 minutes of rest in the sitting position with an aneroid sphygmomanometer and a cuff suitable to the pupil’s arm circumference according to WHO standard procedures. Nutritional and growth status were determined using z-score for BMI-for-age and height-for-age (HA). Pearson correlation was used to determine the correlation coefficients between anthropometric indices and blood pressure parameters. Study findings revealed a z-score of < -3 in 4.34% (n=5) of boys and 1.92% (n=2) of girls as severe wasting while severe stunting was recorded to be 2.61% (n=3) in boys and 1.92% (n=2) in girls. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were not observed between severe thinness or stunting between boys and girls P ≤ 0.05 level of significant. Pearson correlation revealed a positive correlation between weight and Systolic BPs, Diastolic BPs and mean arterial pressures of the subjects ( r =0.77, 0.61, and 0.74 respectively). The study found out that severe malnutrition exists among the pupils, as significant percentages of the school children were thin and stunted. Blood pressure increased with age and was higher among pupils from private schools than among those from public schools.