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RESEARCHERS COMPARED AVERAGE BLOOD PRESSURE, prevalence of elevated blood pressure, and average anthropometric measurements of Asian children with those same measures in children from other racial and ethnic groups, including blacks, whites, and Hispanics. The sample consisted of 1318 boys and 1548 girls ages 6 to 9 who had complete blood pressure and anthropometric data, which were derived from a health screening program in nonpublic schools conducted by the Chicago Department of Health from 1975 to 1978. The systolic pressure, adjusted for age, weight, and height, for Asian, black, Hispanic, and white boys was 108.1, 105.8, 104.7, and 105.6 mmHg, and for diastolic pressure, the adjusted values were 59.6, 58.9, 56.3, and 57.4 mmHg. For both systolic and diastolic, the differences between Asian boys and white boys and between Asian boys and Hispanic boys were statistically significant. For girls, the results were similar. In addition, for boys, the prevalence rates of elevated blood pressure (systolic greater than or equal to 122 mmHg or diastolic greater than or equal to 78 mmHg) were similar among the four groups. For girls, the prevalence rate for Asians was higher than those in the other groups; however, the differences were not statistically significant. Since hypertension is a major health problem in Asians, it is important to confirm these findings and to understand why mean blood pressure adjusted for age and body size is higher in Asian children than in other racial groups.

Associations between blood pressures and three indices commonly used to assess relative obesity (weight (kg)/height (m)2, weight (kg)/height (m)3, and weight (kg)/height (m)p) were examined in a multiracial sample of children attending private schools in Chicago, Illinois. The 1,723 boys and 1,878 girls were 5-10 years old at the time of the survey (1975-1978). Inclusion of white, black, Hispanic, and Asian children permitted comparison of the relation between anthropometric variables and blood pressures across racial groups. The three weight-for-height indices used as estimates of relative obesity yielded nearly identical regression models, suggesting that, in spite of ongoing debate about the most appropriate index for describing relative obesity in children, it makes little difference which index is used.

In 1975-1978, the Chicago Department of Health conducted a screening program that included measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness, and arm circumference, and calculation of body mass index and muscle circumference for non-public school children. Based on data on 4,086 boys and girls aged 5-10 years from the program, this study examined the ethnic differences in blood pressure and heart rate among children of white, black, Latino, and Oriental ethnicity. Mean levels for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were higher for Oriental and black children than for white and Latino children. These differences were independent of age, height, weight, and skinfold thickness. The black children had a much lower mean heart rate than the other children. A seasonal variation was observed for systolic blood pressure, i.e., with each sex group, the mean systolic blood pressure adjusted for age, skinfold thickness, and height tended to be higher in spring than in fall and winter. (Note-- no child was screened during the summer because of summer break.) With control for season, ethnic differences in systolic blood pressure disappeared, but not the ethnic differences in diastolic blood pressure and heart rate.