Prevalence of malnutrition and high blood pressure amongst adolescents in semi-urban area of Ogun State south- western Nigeria

Globally, underweight in children is projected to decline except in Sub-Sahara Africa. This study assessed the prevalence of malnutrition and its correlation with high blood pressure among adolescents in a semi-urban Nigerian setting. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among adolescent school children in Sagamu, Nigeria. Weight, height and blood pressure measurements were recorded. Using the cut-off points of -2SD, height for age and weight for height were used to diagnose stunting and wasting. The nutritional status of the subjects was related to their blood pressure pattern. A total of 572 adolescents were surveyed. Wasting and stunting were diagnosed among 26.7% and 24.8% of the subjects respectively. Pre –hypertension was present in 4.2% and 3.9% of the stunted and wasted respectively (p<0.05.) while Stage -1 hypertension was observed among adolescents with normal weight. Weight was strongly correlated with blood pressure.(÷2 =0.0249, p=<0.001and ÷2= 0.117 , p= 0.001) in conclusion, wasting and stunting were common in the population studied and were associated with blood pressure abnormalities.Key Words: Adolescents, Blood pressure, Hypertension, Stunting , Wasting