Kirstie K. Danielson, BS, ABD and Mari Palta, PhD. Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 636 WARF Building, 610 Walnut Street, Madison, WI 53726-2397, 608-265-2389, kdaniel2@wisc.edu

Measuring blood pressure (BP) in children has become an important public health practice because early BP may be a predictor of later cardiovascular disease. New hypertension guidelines were recently published by the National Institutes of Health, based on the 2004 Fourth Report on High BP in Children, which combines data from several previous studies. We present separately the data from this report and others on BP levels in children from the last 30 years including the 1993 BP Nomograms for Children, and the Second (II, 1976-1980), Third (III, 1988-1994), and 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). Our analysis indicates that there was little difference in absolute levels of systolic BP by age between reports. However, there was substantial variation in absolute levels of diastolic BP (DBP) (phase five) by age between reports. For example, for girls 9-11 years old, mean DBP ranged from 44-64 mmHg. DBPs were significantly lower in NHANES III compared to NHANES II and 1999-2000 for white boys and girls 6-17 years old. DBPs were also lower in the 2004 Report compared to the 1993 Report for a combination of white and nonwhite boys and girls 1-12 years old. NHANES III had the lowest DBPs compared to the other reports. These results indicate that there remains substantial methodological difficulty in measuring DBP in children that limit its clinical use. Furthermore, the most recent reports did not demonstrate the highest DBP. Recent research indicating a temporal increase in DBP in children should therefore be interpreted cautiously.

Learning Objectives: After reading the poster, the participant will be able to

• Describe systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels in children between 1-17 years old.
• Evaluate how diastolic blood pressure levels differ significantly between population studies conducted in children over the last 30 years.
• Recognize the methodological difficulties in measuring diastolic blood pressure in children that may limit its clinical use.

Keywords: Children and Adolescents, Hypertension

Related Web page: NA

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.