Differing relationship by ethnicity between obesity and blood pressure in children living in Australia
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To investigate the relationship between obesity and high systolic blood pressure (SBP) in South-East Asian (SEAsian) and Australian children living in Australia, SBP, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and percent total body fat (%TBF) were recorded in 1232 children aged 9 years and re-measured 3 years later. Regression analysis revealed that children of SEAsian origin had a significantly higher risk of high SBP with increases in obesity indices as compared to Australian children. SBP increased 1.51 mmHg for each unit of BMI increase for SEAsian children versus 1.05 mmHg for Australian children. Similar interactions were observed for WC and %TBF as predictors of SBP. Moreover, in the 3-year longitudinal analysis, SEAsian children exhibited higher risk of increasing SBP with BMI or WC increase than Australian children. In conclusion, SEAsian children living in Australia appear to be at higher risk of increasing SBP when they become overweight or obese than their Australian counterparts.
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