Institute of Cardiology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Sukileliu 15, LT-50162 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Nutrients. 2024 Sep 26;16(19):3256. doi: 10.3390/nu16193256.
(1) Background: High blood pressure (HBP), overweight, and obesity are common, growing public health problems worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate associations between changes in body weight status and HBP among Lithuanian children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: In this study, we analysed data on blood pressure and anthropometric measurements of 2430 children and adolescents aged 8-18 years, who participated in both the baseline study conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic (from November 2019 to March 2020) and the follow-up study during the COVID-19 pandemic (from November 2021 to April 2022). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the associations between changes in weight status categories and HBP. (3) Results: At baseline, 17.1% of the subjects had overweight, 5.9% had obesity, 5.6% had abdominal obesity, and 23.7% had HBP, whereas at the follow-up, these percentages increased to 20.1%, 8.2%, 6.8%, and 27.4%, respectively. Compared to schoolchildren who maintained normal weight from baseline to the follow-up period, subjects who newly developed overweight/obesity and those who remained with persistent overweight/obesity had increased odds of HBP, with adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of 1.95 ( < 0.001) and 2.58 ( < 0.001), respectively. In subjects who transitioned from overweight/obesity to normal weight, the odds of HBP were slightly increased, with an aOR of 1.14 ( = 0.598), but the change was not statistically significant ( > 0.05). (4) Conclusions: This study observed an increase in the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and HBP among schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also suggested that changes from normal body weight status at baseline to overweight/obesity during follow-up, especially persistent overweight/obesity, were associated with higher odds of HBP in Lithuanian children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(1) 背景：高血压（HBP）、超重和肥胖是全球常见且日益严重的公共卫生问题。本研究旨在评估 COVID-19 大流行期间立陶宛儿童和青少年体重状况变化与 HBP 之间的关联。
(2) 方法：本研究分析了 2430 名 8-18 岁儿童和青少年的血压和人体测量数据，这些参与者均参加了 COVID-19 大流行前的基线研究（2019 年 11 月至 2020 年 3 月）和 COVID-19 大流行期间的随访研究（2021 年 11 月至 2022 年 4 月）。采用多变量逻辑回归分析来估计体重状况类别变化与 HBP 之间的关联。
(3) 结果：基线时，17.1%的受试者超重，5.9%肥胖，5.6%腹部肥胖，23.7%患有 HBP，而随访时，这些百分比分别上升至 20.1%、8.2%、6.8%和 27.4%。与从基线到随访期间体重保持正常的学童相比，新出现超重/肥胖和持续超重/肥胖的受试者发生 HBP 的几率更高，调整后的优势比（aOR）分别为 1.95（<0.001）和 2.58（<0.001）。在从超重/肥胖转为正常体重的受试者中，HBP 的几率略有增加，aOR 为 1.14（=0.598），但变化无统计学意义（>0.05）。
(4) 结论：本研究观察到 COVID-19 大流行期间学童超重、肥胖和 HBP 的患病率增加。研究还表明，从基线时的正常体重状况转变为随访期间的超重/肥胖，特别是持续的超重/肥胖，与 COVID-19 大流行期间立陶宛儿童和青少年发生 HBP 的几率较高相关。
