26/11/2014
3-4% schoolchildren from city have high BP: Study
KOLHAPUR: Fast-paced life and obesity are known to cause lifestyle diseases among adults, but a recent study conducted at D Y Patil medical college has revealed the prevalence of high blood pressure among school-going children in the city.
The study involved blood pressure analysis of 2,000 school-going children aged between 12 and 15 years. The year-long study revealed that almost 3% of the 1,398 boys and 4% of 602 girls surveyed had above normal blood pressure. The study also revealed that 17% girls and 22% boys identified with hypertension were obese.
The study was presented during the annual summit of pediatricians from Maharashtra in Mumbai last week and won the first prize. It highlights the possibility of the health impact of fast food consumption and lack of exercise among school children.
Nikita Magdum, an MBBS and a student of Doctor of Medicine-Pediatrics at D Y Patil medical college, anchored the study started in August 2013 and concluded in August this year. Under the guidance of head of department A B Kurane, she registered the blood pressure of 2,000 children in different schools. Pediatricians said hypertension in adolescence is highly risky as may lead to cardiovascular diseases at a young age.
"It is not a common practice to record a child's blood pressure during medical examination. We recorded three examinations of each child and then calculated the mean of three recordings to arrive at the average blood pressure of the child," Magdum told TOI.
She added that physicians screen children, especially those with obesity, very cautiously since they seem to be prone to hypertension. "The schools, where we conducted the study, have children from affluent families. We observed that most of them eat junk food and taken little efforts for regular exercise," she added.