Blood pressure profiles of a group of African children in the first year of life.

Systolic blood pressure was measured at birth, every week till 6 months, then every month till 12 months in normal Cameroonian neonates in the two Yaounde teaching hospitals. Systolic arterial pressure in awake babies rose from a mean of 65.1 +/- 1.30 mmHg at birth to 80.59 +/- 2.16 mmHg at 6 weeks; 94.39 mmHg at 12 months. The majority of this rise (7 mmHg) took place during the first 2 weeks of life. Systolic blood pressure increased by an average 2.5 mmHg weekly in the first 6 weeks, 0.5 mmHg weekly from 6 weeks to 6 months, and 0.6 mmHg monthly from 6 to 12 months. Relationships between systolic blood pressure and various parameters, and systolic blood pressures trends are analysed. Systolic blood pressure was not influenced by birth weight, sex of children, or tribe of parents. There was a weak correlation between systolic blood pressure and body weight between 6 weeks and 6 months. Systolic blood pressure measurements taken at different ages were not correlated.