Incidence of high blood pressure in children - Effects of physical activity and sedentary behaviors: The IDEFICS study: High blood pressure, lifestyle and children

Augusto César Ferreira De Moraes*, Heráclito Barbosa Carvalho, Alfonso Siani, Gianvincenzo Barba, Toomas Veidebaum, Michael Tornaritis, Denes Molnar, Wolfgang Ahrens, Norman Wirsik, Stefaan De Henauw, Staffan Mårild, Lauren Lissner, Kenn Konstabel, Yannis Pitsiladis, Luis A. Moreno, IDEFICS Consortium

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    74 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background/objectives 

    High blood pressure (HBP) is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and it has a high prevalence in pediatric populations. However, the determinants of the incidence of Pre-HBP and HBP in children are not well known. i) To describe the incidence of HBP in European children; and ii) to evaluate the effect of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) on the Pre-HBP and HBP. 

    Methods 

    The IDEFICS cohort study. A total of 16,228 children 2-9 years at baseline were recruited by complex sampling population-based survey in eight European countries. At baseline (T0), 5221 children were selected for accelerometer measurements; 5061 children were re-examined 2 years later (T1). We estimated the incidence of Pre-HBP and HBP and evaluate the effect of PA and SB on the Pre-HBP and HBP, by computing relative risks and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (RR, 95% CI). 

    Results 

    Incidences of Pre-HBP and HBP per year were: 121/1000 children and 110/1000 children, respectively. We found that children maintaining SB > 2 h/d during the two year follow-up showed a RR of having HBP of 1.28 (1.03-1.60). Children in T1 not performing the recommended amount of PA (< 60 min/d) have a RR of HBP of 1.53 (1.12 to 2.09). We found no association between pre-HBP and the behaviors. 

    Conclusion 

    The incidence of pre-HBP and HBP is high in European children. Maintaining sedentary behaviors during childhood increases the risk of developing HBP after two years of follow-up.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)165-170
    Number of pages6
    JournalInternational Journal of Cardiology
    Volume180
    Early online date26 Nov 2014
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2015

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Children
    • Cohort study
    • Hypertension
    • Lifestyle behaviors
    • Multicenter study

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