Blood pressure and associated factors in a North African adolescent population. a national cross-sectional study in Tunisia

Table 1 Characteristics of the sample of 15-19 y, Tunisian adolescents (n = 2870).

		Boys		Girls
Characteristics	n¹	Mean(s.e.) or %²	n¹	Mean(s.e.) or %²	P-value³
	1294	51.0	1576	49.0
Age (years)
15-17	838	63.2	982	63.2	0.99
18-19	456	36.8	594	36.8
Area
Urban	707	62.3	825	62.4	0.93
Rural	587	37.7	751	37.6
Socio-economic factors
Household's economic level
Low	526	38.4	645	37.4
Intermediate	427	32.1	552	36.0	0.14
High	283	29.5	299	26.6
Attending school	1292	69.1	1572	74.2	0.020
Behavioral factors
Proportion of low physical activity
1 ^st tertile (low)	562	46.2	283	20.0
2 ^nd tertile (middle)	413	31.0	543	35.8	< 10^-4
3 ^rd tertile (high)	319	22.8	750	44.3
Perceived stress
1 ^st tertile (low)	473	37.7	504	31.6
2 ^nd tertile (middle)	474	35.9	566	36.0	0.0021
3 ^rd tertile (high)	341	26.4	500	32.4
Anthropometric characteristics
Body Mass Index (kg/m²)	1294	20.9 (0.1)	1576	22.0 (0.1)	< 10^-4
No excess weight	1011	76.9	1161	72.9
Overweight	218	17.9	337	22.3	0.085
Obesity	65	5.2	78	4.8
Waist circumference (cm)	1287	75.7 (0.4)	1571	73.1 (0.3)	< 10^-4
1 ^st tertile	496	33.4	632	36.7
2 ^nd tertile	433	35.3	468	31.7	0.14
3 ^rd tertile	358	31.3	471	31.7
Blood pressure (BP) status
Systolic BP (mmHg)	1294	114.2 (0.4)	1576	110.9 (0.4)	< 10^-4
Diastolic BP (mmHg)	1294	68.1 (0.3)	1576	66.6 (0.4)	< 10^-3
Elevated BP	1294	46.1	1576	33.3	< 10^-4
Hypertension	1294	4.3	1576	5.1	0.45

1-Number of subjects surveyed
2-Weighted mean (standard error) or proportion (accounting for unequal probabilities of selection and/or differential response rates)
3- Boys vs. girls (chi-square test for %, t-test for means)

ISSN: 1471-2458