article · World Journal of Public Health
An assessment of 219 primary school pupils aged six to twelve years across public and private schools in Zaria Local Government Area examined the relationship between nutritional status and blood pressure. Nutritional status was evaluated using BMI-for-age and height-for-age z-scores, alongside blood pressure readings taken with standard procedures. Severe wasting was observed in 4.34 percent of boys and 1.92 percent of girls, while severe stunting was recorded in 2.61 percent of boys and 1.92 percent of girls, with no statistically significant differences between genders. Strong positive correlations emerged between pupil weight and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure. Additionally, blood pressure increased with age and was higher among pupils attending private schools than those in public schools, indicating the co-existence of severe malnutrition and rising blood pressure trends.
Monitoring childhood health metrics helps identify early vulnerability to both undernutrition and cardiovascular risk factors. The findings demonstrate that primary school children can simultaneously experience severe forms of malnutrition, such as stunting and wasting, alongside weight-linked increases in blood pressure. Recognising these patterns across different school settings informs community health screening and child wellness initiatives.
The abstract presents observational epidemiological data and does not indicate an application pathway or commercialisation opportunity.
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Anthropometric indices have become practical tools for evaluating the nutritional status of populations. Understanding the nutritional status of children has far-reaching implications for promoting the health of future generations. The necessity for routine blood pressure screening in children was debated in the past, the main argument against it being that essential hypertension is an adult disease and there was no evidence that screening apparently healthy children for hypertension is rewarding. Its value as a screening tool for hypertension in adults has long been documented. This study has been designed to assess the relationship between nutritional status and blood pressure among apparently healthy primary school pupils aged 6–12 years in Zaria Local Government Area, Kaduna State. The study was conducted on 219 pupils randomly selected from public and private schools using a table of random numbers. Blood pressure was measured after 5 minutes of rest in the sitting position with an aneroid sphygmomanometer and a cuff suitable to the pupil’s arm circumference according to WHO standard procedures. Nutritional and growth status were determined using z-score for BMI-for-age and height-for-age (HA). Pearson correlation was used to determine the correlation coefficients between anthropometric indices and blood pressure parameters. Study findings revealed a z-score of < -3 in 4.34% (n=5) of boys and 1.92% (n=2) of girls as severe wasting while severe stunting was recorded to be 2.61% (n=3) in boys and 1.92% (n=2) in girls. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were not observed between severe thinness or stunting between boys and girls P ≤ 0.05 level of significant. Pearson correlation revealed a positive correlation between weight and Systolic BPs, Diastolic BPs and mean arterial pressures of the subjects ( r =0.77, 0.61, and 0.74 respectively). The study found out that severe malnutrition exists among the pupils, as significant percentages of the school children were thin and stunted. Blood pressure increased with age and was higher among pupils from private schools than among those from public schools.
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DOI: 10.11648/j.wjph.20261103.22
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