Prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among secondary school students in Duhok City

Submitted: 12 November 2023
Accepted: 27 February 2024
Published: 21 March 2024
Abstract Views: 504
PDF: 148
HTML: 95
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Hypertension can develop in early childhood and go unnoticed unless it is screened for specifically during this developmental stage. Detecting potential hypertension risk in children is critical to avoiding the serious, long-term complications associated with the condition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hypertension among schoolchildren aged 13 to 18, as well as the risk factors associated with it. A cross-sectional study included 565 students aged 13 to 18 from the Duhok region. The analysis used Chi square testing and logistic regression with JMP Pro 14.3.0 software. Of the 565 students from 32 schools chosen, 242 (42.80%) were male and 323 (57.2%) were female. Notably, 5.84% (n=33) were hypertensive. A significant correlation was found between hypertension prevalence and body mass index, as well as gender. There was no significant relationship found with other variables. Logistic regression revealed that high blood pressure was significantly associated with excess weight, obesity, and age. We concluded that there was an increase in the incidence of hypertension among high school students. Lifestyle changes appeared to play a role in hypertension development among this population. Routine school surveys are recommended to detect potential hypertension cases in children and adolescents, allowing for timely preventative interventions.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

References
Kearney PM, Whelton M, Reynolds K, et al. Global burden of hypertension: analysis of worldwide data. Lancet 2005;365:217-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)70151-3
Silverstein DM, Champoux E, Aviles DH, Vehaskari VMJPN. Treatment of primary and secondary hypertension in children. Pediatr Nephrol 2006;21:820-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-006-0087-5
Charan J, Buch N, Goyal JP, et al. Prevalence of hypertension in school going children of Surat city, Western India. J Cardiovasc Dis Res 2011;2:228-32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-3583.89807
Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, et al. Seventh report of the joint national committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. Hypertension 2003;42:1206-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/01.HYP.0000107251.49515.c2
Alikhani S, Delavari A, Alaedini F, et al. A province-based surveillance system for the risk factors of non-communicable diseases: A prototype for integration of risk factor surveillance into primary healthcare systems of developing countries. Public Health 2009;123:358-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2009.02.011
Subhi MD. Blood pressure profiles and hypertension in Iraqi primary school children. Saudi Med J 2006;27:482-6.
Grummer-Strawn LM, Reinold C, Krebs NF; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Use of World Health Organization and CDC growth charts for children aged 0-59 months in the United States. MMWR Recomm Rep 2010;59:1-15. Erratum in: MMWR Recomm Rep 2010;59:1184.
Goran MI, Ball GD, Cruz MLJTJoCE, Metabolism. Obesity and risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in children and adolescents. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2003;88(4):1417-27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2002-021442
Monge R, Beita OJJoah. Prevalence of coronary heart disease risk factors in Costa Rican adolescents. J Adolesc Health 2000;27:210-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(99)00017-8
Braveman P, Tarimo E. Screening in primary health care: setting priorities with limited resources: World Health Organization; 1994.
Raja T, Muthukumar T, Mohan AP. A cross sectional study on prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among rural adults in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu. Int J Community Med Public Health 2017;5:249-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20175791
Macedo ME, Lima MJ, Silva AO, et al. Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Portugal: the PAP study. J Hypertens 2005;23:1661-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.hjh.0000179908.51187.de
Jafar TH. Children, obesity, and high blood pressure: Asian populations at high risk. Am J Hypert 2009;22:6-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ajh.2008.339
Falkner B. Hypertension in children and adolescents: epidemiology and natural history. Pediatr Nephrol 2010;25:1219-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-009-1200-3
Harrabi I, Belarbia A, Gaha R, et al. Epidemiology of hypertension among a population of school children in Sousse, Tunisia. Can J Cardiol 2006;22:212-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0828-282X(06)70898-4
Kidy F, Rutebarika D, Lule SA, et al. Blood pressure in primary school children in Uganda: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health 2014;14:1-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-1223
Nur N, Çetinkaya S, Yilmaz A, Ayvaz A, Bulut MO, Sümer HJJoh, population,, et al. Prevalence of hypertension among high school students in a middle Anatolian province of Turkey. J Health Popul Nutr 2008;26:88.
Sorof JM, Lai D, Turner J, et al. Overweight, ethnicity, and the prevalence of hypertension in school-aged children. Pediatrics 2004;113:475-82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.113.3.475
Karatzi K, Protogerou A, Rarra V, Stergiou GJ. Home and office blood pressure in children and adolescents: the role of obesity. The Arsakeion School Study. J Hum Hypertens 2009;23:512-20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2008.158
Meng L, Liang Y, Liu J, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of hypertension based on repeated measurements in Chinese children and adolescents. Blood Press 2013;22:59-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/08037051.2012.701790
Erlingsdottir A, Indridason OS, Thorvaldsson O, Edvardsson VO. Blood pressure in children and target-organ damage later in life. Pediatr Nephrol 2010;25:323-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-009-1350-3
Oyewole O, Oritogun KS. Pre-hypertension and hypertension in adolescence: how much does it occur in a Nigerian community? West Afr J Med 2012;31:71-5.
Ujunwa FA, Ikefuna AN, Nwokocha AR, Chinawa JM. Hypertension and prehypertension among adolescents in secondary schools in Enugu, South East Nigeria. Ital J Pediatr 2013;39:1-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1824-7288-39-70
Rebelo D, Teixeira J, Marques-Vidal P, Oliveira JM. Obesity markers and blood pressure in a sample of Portuguese children and adolescents. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2008;15:73-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/HJR.0b013e3282f0e344
Palmieri D, Perego P, Palombo DJA. Estrogen receptor activation protects against TNF-α-induced endothelial dysfunction. Angiology 2014;65:17-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0003319713477909
Kolovou G, Giannakopoulou V, Vasiliadis Y, Bilianou H. Effects of estrogens on atherogenesis. Curr Vasc Pharmacol 2011;9:244-57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/157016111794519327
Mendelsohn ME, Karas RH. The protective effects of estrogen on the cardiovascular system. N Engl J Med 1999;340:1801-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199906103402306
Alhalaiqa F, Abu-shbeeb I, Batiha A-M, Masa'Deh R, Amarneh B. The relation of demographic characteristics with fatigue levels among coronary heart disease patients: A Jordanian study. Adv Stud Biol 2015;7:301-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12988/asb.2015.5418
Grassi G, Mark A, Esler M. The sympathetic nervous system alterations in human hypertension. Circ Res 2015;116:976-90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.303604
Kalil GZ, Haynes WGJHR. Sympathetic nervous system in obesity-related hypertension: mechanisms and clinical implications. Hypertens Res 2012;35:4-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hr.2011.173

How to Cite

Abdul Majeed, A. A., & Haleem, A. A. (2024). Prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among secondary school students in Duhok City. Healthcare in Low-Resource Settings, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/hls.2024.12073

Similar Articles

1 2 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.