Blood pressure levels and hipertension prevalence in 16 to 25 year-old students in Botucatu, S. Paulo, Brazil. A comparative study of two successive cohorts, 1975-1976

Abstract

To determine the prevalence of hypertension and blood pressure levels in a young population group, two groups, one of 1288 students and another of 736, all from Botucatu, were investigated during two consecutive years, and the results were then compared. The mean values for systolic readings of the whole population, as for the two age groups (16 to 20 and 21 to 25 years old), were identical for both years studied; the diastolic mean values differed by 2 mmHg at most. The mean systolic and diastolic reading for both sexes and among the whites also differed by 2 mmHg at most. The mean values for the whole population and among the white population were higher for males than for females, and also higher in the 21 to 25 age group than in the 16 to 20 group. The 1975 and 1976 results for the black and yellow population were inconsistent, reflecting the influence of the small size of these groups. The prevalence of arterial hypertension (systolic readings equal to or higher than 140 mmHg and diastolic readings equal to or higher than 90 mmHg) was 5.04% in 1975 and 6.22% in 1976, being higher in the males than in the females and higher in the 21 to 25 age group than in the 16 to 20 year-old group.