Growth achieved and correlation with blood pressure levels in schoolchildren.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of systemic arterial hypertension in childhood has increased progressively.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze blood pressure and height reached by children in public schools in the South of Brazil.

METHODS: This is a sectional study of a randomized sample of 1,082 students of six to seven and nine to ten years old used to evaluate blood pressure and height. Blood pressure levels were classified by percentile for gender, age and stature according to the North American reference of National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group on High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents.

RESULTS: Schoolchildren presented adequate growth, which was, on average, higher than the WHO reference values. Blood pressure levels were altered in 13.8% of children, with a higher frequency in the nine and ten year olds (17.6%). The isolated analysis of systolic and diastolic Blood pressure revealed a similar trend, with blood pressure levels higher than the greater the value of the Z-score for stature.

CONCLUSION: The schoolchildren in the study evidenced adequate growth and an elevated prevalence of pre-hypertension and arterial hypertension, which tended to be higher in older children and/or those that achieved a greater stature growth.