Obesity in children and adolescence is highly correlated with adult obesity, which can provoke hypertension. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the blood pressure of obese children regularly. In this study, the results of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in obese children and adolescents were evaluated.

ABPM was conducted for selected patients who visited Handong University Sunlin Hospital from Feb. 1, 2006 to Dec. 1, 2007. The patients were classified into 3 groups: group 1 was normal, group 2 had normal casual blood pressure and a body mass index over the 95th percentile, and group 3 had high casual blood pressure over 120/80 mm Hg and a body mass index over the 95th percentile. Systolic and diastolic 24-hour blood pressure was measured, including both day and night.

There were 49 patients in the study. The results showed a significant difference for average systolic blood pressure between the three groups (105.1±4.7, 111.0±7.1, 117.8±6.6 mmHg, P <0.001), but for average diastolic blood pressure only between groups 1 and 3 (69.1±5.3, 77.9±6.3 mmHg, P =0.001). In the daytime, only groups 1 and 3 showed a statistically significant difference for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. During the night the systolic pressure of group 3 was significantly higher than the other groups, but the diastolic pressure of group 3 was only higher than that group 1. No statistical difference was found in night dips among the groups.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in children and adolescents showed statistically higher blood pressure in obese patients with high casual blood pressure.