Grace Kho Woei Feng, Cheah Whye Lian, Hazmi Helmy
Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Malaysia, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Cent Eur J Public Health. 2018 Mar;26(1):16-21. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a5186.
Hypertension is a health issue affecting adolescents. Accumulating evidence affirms that elevated blood pressure begins in childhood and tracks into adulthood. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of elevated blood pressure and its predictors among secondary school students in Sarawak, Malaysia.
A total of 2,461 secondary school students aged 12-17 years from 19 schools in Sarawak participated in the study. Questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic data, parental history of hypertension, and self-reported physical activity. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were taken. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS version 23.0.
The prevalence of adolescents with elevated blood pressure, overweight, central obesity, and overfat were 30.1%, 24.3%, 13.5%, and 6.7%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated the predictors significantly associated with elevated blood pressure among respondents: overweight (adjusted odds ratio=3.144), being male (adjusted odds ratio=3.073), being Chinese (adjusted odds ratio=2.321) or Iban (adjusted odds ratio=1.578), central obesity (adjusted odds ratio=2.145), being overfat (adjusted odds ratio=1.885), and being an older adolescent (adjusted odds ratio=1.109). Parental history of hypertension, locality, and physical activity showed no significant associations.
The obesity epidemic must be tackled at community and school levels by health education and regulation of school canteen foods.
高血压是影响青少年的一个健康问题。越来越多的证据证实，血压升高始于儿童期并持续至成年期。本横断面研究旨在确定马来西亚砂拉越州中学生中血压升高的患病率及其预测因素。
来自砂拉越州19所学校的2461名12至17岁的中学生参与了本研究。通过问卷调查获取社会人口统计学数据、父母高血压病史以及自我报告的身体活动情况。进行人体测量和血压测量。使用SPSS 23.0版本录入和分析数据。
血压升高、超重、中心性肥胖和肥胖的青少年患病率分别为30.1%、24.3%、13.5%和6.7%。多因素logistic回归显示，与受访者血压升高显著相关的预测因素有：超重（调整比值比=3.144）、男性（调整比值比=3.073）、华裔（调整比值比=2.321）或伊班族（调整比值比=1.578）、中心性肥胖（调整比值比=2.145）、肥胖（调整比值比=1.885）以及年龄较大的青少年（调整比值比=1.109）。父母高血压病史、地区和身体活动无显著关联。
必须通过社区和学校层面的健康教育以及对学校食堂食品的监管来应对肥胖流行问题。
