ANTHROPOMETRIC DETERMINANTS OF RESTING BLOOD-PRESSURE AND HEART-RATE OF NIGERIAN SCHOOL-CHILDREN

Blood pressure, heart rate and anthropometric parameters were measured in 807 Nigerian school-age children. There was no significant difference between the blood pressure and heart rate of boys and girls after adjusting for differences in age and anthropometric parameters. The stepwise regression analysis revealed that the strong determinants of blood pressure levels were weight, Quetelet index and triceps skinfold thickness. Based on our findings, we recommend that body weight norms rather than age should be used in evaluating abnormal blood pressure levels in Nigerian children.