RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of high blood pressure and associated cardiovascular risk factors in Mexican adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 770 male and 1076 female students (12 to 16 years old) from eight randomly selected high schools in Mexico City. Anthropometry, blood pressure and fasting lipids and lipoproteins were measured. RESULTS: Blood pressure levels were adjusted for age, gender, and height. The prevalence rates of hypertension (systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic (DBP) > or =95th percentile), and pre-hypertension (SBP or DBP > or =90th but <95th percentile) were 10.6 and 10%, respectively. Compared to normotensive subjects, those with high blood pressure showed a significantly higher prevalence of obesity, overweight, and dyslipidemia. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that waist (18.3%), Tanner stage (4.7%), age (2.1%), gender (0.6%), and body mass index (BMI, 0.3%) accounted for 26% of the variance in SBP; whereas BMI (8.7%), age (4.8%), Tanner stage (1.7%), waist (0.4%), and gender (0.4%) accounted for 15.9% of the variance in DBP. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal a high prevalence of high blood pressure in adolescents living in Mexico City. Prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects showed a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, suggesting that, as adults, these adolescents will be at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.