ABSTRACT
To determine differences in ambulatory blood pressure [ABP] parameters between office normotensive obese and non-obese children and to evaluate correlations of ABP parameters with insulin resistance and the lipid profile. Thirty-eight obese [body mass index [BMI] above the 95th percentile] and 38 non-obese children aged 9-17 years were recruited. All subjects who were normotensive during office visits and who underwent 24-hour ABP monitoring were evaluated. Insulin resistance and the lipid profile were also evaluated. The mean daytime, night-time and 24-hour systolic blood pressure [SBP] and the daytime and 24-hour diastolic blood pressure [DBP] in normotensive obese children were significantly higher compared to the values in non-obese children [p < 0.05]. There was no difference in the frequency of nocturnal non-dippers and nocturnal hypertension [night-time SBP at or above the 95th percentile] between the two groups [p > 0.05]. Children with night-time SBP at or above the 95th percentile and non-dippers had higher atherosclerotic markers than children with night-time SBP below the 95th percentile and dippers [p < 0.05]. In logistic regression analysis, the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C]:high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C] ratio and night-time SBP had significantly positive associations with being obese in adolescents [OR 6.54, 95% CI 1.15-37.07, p = 0.03, and OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.01-1.19, p = 0.02, respectively]. Normotensive obese children had higher ABP parameters. A high LDL-C: HDL-C ratio and night-time SBP were associated with an increased risk of being obese. High LDL-C: HDL-C ratios and total cholesterol: HDL-C levels in children and adolescents may be risk factors for night-time hypertension