Cent Eur J Public Health 2018, 26(1):16-21 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5186

Elevated blood pressure and its predictors among secondary school students in Sarawak: a cross-sectional study

Woei Feng Grace Kho, Whye Lian Cheah, Helmy Hazmi
Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Malaysia, Sarawak, Malaysia

Objectives: Hypertension is a health issue affecting adolescents. Accumulating evidence affirms that elevated blood pressure begins in childhood and tracks into adulthood. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of elevated blood pressure and its predictors among secondary school students in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Methods: A total of 2,461 secondary school students aged 12-17 years from 19 schools in Sarawak participated in the study. Questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic data, parental history of hypertension, and self-reported physical activity. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were taken. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 23.0.

Results: The prevalence of adolescents with elevated blood pressure, overweight, central obesity, and overfat were 30.1%, 24.3%, 13.5%, and 6.7%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated the predictors significantly associated with elevated blood pressure among respondents: overweight (adjusted odds ratio = 3.144), being male (adjusted odds ratio = 3.073), being Chinese (adjusted odds ratio = 2.321) or Iban (adjusted odds ratio = 1.578), central obesity (adjusted odds ratio = 2.145), being overfat (adjusted odds ratio = 1.885), and being an older adolescent (adjusted odds ratio = 1.109). Parental history of hypertension, locality, and physical activity showed no significant associations.

Conclusion: The obesity epidemic must be tackled at community and school levels by health education and regulation of school canteen foods.

Keywords: adolescent, elevated blood pressure, hypertension, prevalence, predictors, risk factors, obesity, gender, ethnic, age, parental history of hypertension, locality, urban, rural, physical activity, Sarawak, Malaysia

Received: August 4, 2017; Revised: January 17, 2018; Published: March 30, 2018  Show citation

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Feng Grace Kho W, Cheah WL, Hazmi H. Elevated blood pressure and its predictors among secondary school students in Sarawak: a cross-sectional study. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2018;26(1):16-21. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a5186. PubMed PMID: 29684292.
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