ABSTRACT
In order to investigate the effect of the urinary excretion of sodium and potassium on the change on blood pressure over 3 years, 668 adolescents aged 13 years living in Kangwha area were investigated in a longitudinal follow-up study. Two measurements were taken on each blood pressure (diastolic, systolic) and the average of the two readings was used in the analysis. Sodium and potassium intake were estimated by the determination of those electrolytes in 24hr urine. The mixed model regression analysis was used to identify the effect of urinary sodium and potassium on the change of blood pressure after controlling for BMI of each age. On simple bivariate analysis no relationship was found between urinary sodium excretion and systolic or diastolic blood pressure among both male and female, however, a significant positive association between urinary potassium excretion and systolic blood pressure among male. The results of mixed regression analysis showed that the body mass index (BMI) were more influential that urinary electrolytes among this study subjects. It suggested that risk factors observed from the adults, may not be identical with that of the growing aged population. After control of the BMI and age, significant association between sodium and diastolic BP among male, and association between potassium and systolic BP among female, were found. In summary, the results indicate that growth has been more influential than dietary factor on blood pressure for growing aged population.