Prediction of Hypertension Based on Anthropometric Parameters in Adolescents in Eastern Sudan: A Community-Based Study.

Background: Anthropometric measures such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) are associated with elevated blood pressure and hypertension in adolescents. We aimed to assess these anthropometric measures (BMI, WC, and WHtR) and examine their association with hypertension in adolescents.

Methods: Adolescents' BMI, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), WC, body roundness index (BRI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), WHtR, and a body shape index(ABSI) values were measured and calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) were created to determine the discriminatory capacities of these anthropometric parameters for hypertension. The cutoff points for these parameters were identified using Youden's index.

Results: A total of 401 adolescents [186(46.4%) were females and 215 (53.6%) were males] were included. The median (interquartile range, IQR) age was 14.0 (12.1‒16.2) years. Thirty-six adolescents were found to have hypertension. Among the anthropometric parameters, MUAC (area under the curve (AUC] = 0.76, at the cutoff 26.1 cm, sensitivity = 61.0, specificity = 83.0), WC (AUC= 0.74, at the cutoff 70.3 cm, sensitivity = 66.7, specificity = 77.0), BMI (AUC= 0.73, at the cutoff 17.4 kg/m², sensitivity = 83.3, specificity = 59.0), and hip circumference (HC) (AUC= 0.72, at the cutoff 91.0 cm, sensitivity = 55.6, specificity = 83.0) performed fairly in detecting hypertension in adolescents, whereas WHR, WHtR, ABSI, and BRI performed poorly. A univariate analysis showed that, except for WHR, all anthropometric parameters (BMI, MUAC, WC, HC, WHtR, BRI, and ABSI) were associated with hypertension. However, in a multivariate analysis, only increased MUAC (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]= 1.24, 95% CI= 1.03‒1.50) was associated with hypertension.

Conclusion: This study showed that MUAC, WC, BMI, and HC could be used to detect hypertension in adolescents. Other parameters,namelyWHR, WHtR, ABSI, and BRI, perform poorly in this regard. Larger studies are needed in the future.