Prevalence of hypertension and its association with overweight and physical activity in adolescents

• Main Author: Lima, Alaine Souza
• Publication Date: 2014
• Other Authors: Araújo, Rodrigo Cappato de, Gomes, Mayra Ruana de Alencar, Schwingel, Paulo Adriano, Pitangui, Ana Carolina Rodarti
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: ABCS Health Sciences (Online)
• Download full: https://www.portalnepas.org.br/abcshs/article/view/627
• topic: hypertension; overweight; adolescent; obesity; hipertensão; sobrepeso; adolescente; obesidade.

Introduction: Arterial hypertension (AH) is a chronic disease and it is considered as a public health problem. Objective: To determine the prevalence of AH and evaluate its association with overweight and physical activity in adolescents from the city of Petrolina (PE). Methods: It was a cross-sectional study of 305 adolescents between 12 and 17 years. Initially, sociodemographic data were collected and the measurements of weight, height and blood pressure were realized. A questionnaire of habitual physical activities for adolescents was used. To verify possible associations it was used the Fisher’s exact test. In all analyzes, was adopted a significance level of p<0.05. Results: The AH was found in 1% (95%CI 0.21–2.89) of adolescents, all male. Overweight was found in 16% of the sample, of these 15.4% were girls and 17.4% were boys. There was no association between hypertension and body mass index (BMI) (p=0.408) and AH and physical activity (p=0.245). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the sample studied showed low prevalence of AH, showed no association with excess weight and physical inactivity.