Hip Circumference and Risk of Elevated Blood Pressure in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The increasing rate of childhood obesity has become a major threat to children health. This study reports the association between hip circumference (HC) and risk of elevated blood pressure in school children. Methods: We measured height, weight, neck circumference, HC, and blood pressure in regular health examinations among children in grade 1 at six elementary schools in Taipei, Taiwan. This study used age-, sex-, and height-specific criteria to define elevated blood pressure. Results: Among 2,334 school children, the mean of blood pressure and the prevalence of elevated blood pressure increased as HC quartiles increased (p<0.0001). In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, the adjusted odds ratios of elevated blood pressure were 1.02 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.54-1.91), 1.88 (95% CI=1.03-3.44), and 3.79 (95% CI=1.70-8.42) for boys in the second, third, and fourth quartiles of WC when compared with the first quartile. The corresponding odds ratios for girls were 1.72 (95% CI=0.88-3.36), 3.18 (95% CI=1.51-6.70), and 5.61 (95% CI=2.22-14.2), respectively. Conclusions: HC is a simple and useful measure highly associated with elevated blood pressure in school children.